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RESEARCH  DEPARTMENT 

WARNER  BROS.  PICTURES,  INC. 

BURBANK.  CALIFORNIA 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
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THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE  OF 
TO-DAY  AND  YESTERDAY 


WORKS  OF 

NEVIN  O.  WINTER 

Mexico  and  Her  People  of  To-Day  (new 


revised  edition)  -----  $3.00 

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L.  C.  PAGE  &  COMPANY 
53  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


NICHOLAS  II 


Euaatan  lEmptr? 
of  ®n-iatj  ani 
feafrriiag 

The  Country  and  Its  Peoples,  together  with  a 
brief  review  of  its  History,  past  and  present, 
and  a  survey  of  its  social,  political,  and 
economic  conditions 


is 

Jfatmt  CD.  Winter 

Author  of  “Mexico  and  Her  People  of  To-Day,” 
“  Brazil  and  Her  People  of  To-Day,”  “  Argen¬ 
tina  and  Her  People  of  To-Day,”  etc. 


illustratrfc 


L.  C.  PAGE  &  COMPANY 
BOSTON  4#  MDCCCCXIII 


UNITED  COSTUMERS,  Inc. 

SANTA  MONICA  BLVD.,  HOLLYWOOD 


Copyright,  iqig. 

By  L.  C.  Page  &  Company 
(incorporated) 

All  rights  reserved 


First  Impression,  March,  1913 


THE  COLONIAL  PRESS 
C.  H.  SIMONDS  &  CO.,  BOSTON,  U.  S.  A, 


PREFACE 


The  Russian  Empire  has  long  occupied  a  prominent 
place  among  the  great  countries  of  the  world,  but,  al¬ 
though  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  foreign  lands,  it 
has  been  but  little  visited  by  the  great  army  of  American 
tourists  and  travellers  who  annually  cross  the  Atlantic. 
For  that  reason  it  is  the  least  known  of  all  the  countries 
of  Europe,  although  occupying  an  area  nearly  twice  as 
large  as  all  the  other  European  nations  together.  Be¬ 
cause  of  this  general  ignorance  Russia  has  been  a  most 
fertile  field  for  a  host  of  sensational  writers,  who  have 
disseminated  much  false  and  absurd  information  about 
both  country  and  people.  It  is  a  country  in  which  the 
less  scrupulous  of  journalists  are  peculiarly  at  home. 

A  German  writer  has  characterized  Russia  as  “  The 
Land  of  Riddles.”  The  country  of  the  Czar  is  also  fre¬ 
quently  spoken  of  as  the  Sphinx,  when  reference  is  made 
to  her  diplomacy.  It  is  indeed  a  difficult  country  to 
understand,  because  of  the  numerous  diverse  elements 
which  enter  into  her  political  composition,  and  the  diplo¬ 
macy  of  Russia  has  caused  many  a  nightmare  for  the 
statesmen  of  the  rest  of  Europe.  There  is  now,  and  has 
always  been,  a  strong  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  to  all  publicity.  But  whether  we  understand 
Russia  or  not,  whether  we  admire  or  dislike  the  great 
Slav  empire,  whether  we  fear  or  trust  the  land  of  Ivan 
the  Terrible  and  Peter  the  Great,  it  must  be  admitted 


VI 


Preface 


that  Russia  is  a  tremendous  fact.  England  and  Germany 
are  to-day  engaged  in  a  fierce  struggle  for  commercial 
and  military  supremacy,  but  always  both  Teuton  and 
Anglo-Saxon  recognize  the  power  of  the  Slav,  and  that 
means  of  Russia.  Wherever  one  turns  in  a  study  of  the 
stirring  events  in  the  world  of  to-day,  in  the  Balkans, 
in  China,  in  Japan,  in  Persia,  in  Turkey,  he  sees  prom¬ 
inently  before  his  eyes,  in  large  letters,  the  word 
RUSSIA. 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  author  to  trace  the  growth 
of  Russia,  and  show  how  Moscow,  one  of  the  smallest 
of  the  principalities,  or  “  appanages  ”  of  mediaeval  times, 
gradually  became  dominant  and  extended  its  sovereignty 
over  the  whole  of  what  is  now  the  Russian  Empire ;  to 
show  how  the  Muscovites,  once  the  least  important  of 
the  Slav  tribes,  acquired  ascendancy  and  overcame  all 
rivals,  including  their  far  more  powerful  Slavonic  neigh¬ 
bour,  Poland.  It  is  a  startling  story,  full  of  surprises 
and  dramatic  incidents,  the  like  of  which  can  be  scarcely 
duplicated  in  the  history  of  any  other  nation  of  Europe. 

With  the  exception  of  a  study  of  Russian  history,  the 
author  had  read  very  little  descriptive  of  Russia  before 
his  own  travels  throughout  the  Empire.  He  wished  to 
form  his  own  opinions  at  first  hand,  rather  than  visit  the 
country  with  impressions  previously  formed.  The  read¬ 
ing  of  a  book  descriptive  of  a  country  by  a  vigorous 
writer  is  sure  to  leave  permanent  impressions,  which  will 
colour  the  reader’s  opinion,  and  the  better  the  book  is 
written  the  stronger  will  be  such  effect.  Since  returning 
from  his  travels,  however,  which  included  a  visit  to  every 
important  section  in  European  Russia,  and  some  unusual 
opportunities  for  investigation,  the  author  has  read  prac¬ 
tically  every  book  of  consequence  that  has  appeared  in 
English  upon  that  Empire. 


Preface 


Vll 


It  would  be  impossible  to  give  credit  to  every  writer 
whose  work  has  proved  helpful  in  the  preparation  of  this 
volume,  but  a  list  of  those  books  will  be  found  in  the 
Bibliography  in  the  Appendix.  Many  writers  have  given 
us  travel  sketches  which  have  been  the  result  of  casual 
observation  and  a  superficial  study  of  the  country,  and 
these  works  will  either  be  found  extremely  laudatory 
or  else  filled  with  aberrant  criticism.  They  are  either 
intense  admirers  or  inconsiderate  detractors  of  Russia 
and  things  Russian.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  author 
in  the  ensuing  pages  to  give  the  Russian  due  credit  for 
his  good  qualities,  and  at  the  same  time  not  to  spare 
comment  where  criticism  is  due.  Nothing  has  been  in¬ 
cluded  for  the  purpose  of  sensationalism ;  nor,  on  the 
other  hand,  has  anything  been  omitted  for  fear  it  might 
ofifend  Russian  sensibilities. 

Russian  proper  names  are  very  differently  translated 
by  writers,  and  for  that  reason  one  will  find  the  spelling 
of  the  names  of  personages  and  places  given  differently 
by  leading  writers.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  author 
to  give  the  spelling  which  seems  best  to  him,  and  to 
follow  that  system  entirely,  with  the  exception  of  the 
spelling  of  such  names  as  Moscow,  Warsaw,  and  a  few 
others,  where  the  commonly  accepted  English  spelling 
is  used.  In  the  giving  of  dates  it  has  been  his  aim  to 
give  the  calendar  in  use  among  Western  nations  instead 
of  the  Russian,  and  if  any  error  has  occurred  in  this  it 
has  been  an  oversight. 

A  few  repetitions  will  be  found  of  incidents  and  char¬ 
acteristics,  but  wherever  such  do  appear  they  are  pur¬ 
posely  given  and  are  not  the  result  of  oarelessness  in 
preparation.  Such  repetitions  have  occasionally  been 
found  absolutely  necessary  in  the  plan  which  has  been 
followed  in  the  preparation  of  the  work. 


Preface 


viii 

It  is  impossible  within  the  limits  of  a  single  volume 
to  write  in  much  detail  of  the  many  complicated  political 
and  racial  questions  of  Russia.  The  Jewish  problem  has 
been  given  fuller  treatment  than  any  other,  for  it  is  one  of 
Russia’s  greatest  problems;  and  it  is  of  intense  interest 
to  the  United  States  as  well,  because  of  the  steady  mi¬ 
gration  of  Russian  Jews  to  our  shores.  The  Russian 
answer  to  the  recent  abrogation,  by  the  American  Con¬ 
gress,  of  an  ancient  treaty  governing  passports,  the  ar¬ 
gument  of  which  seems  unanswerable  when  viewed  in 
a  dispassionate  way,  is  included  in  the  ensuing  pages. 
The  purpose  of  the  writer  has  been  to  treat  of  such  sub¬ 
jects  as  the  general  reader  is  likely  to  be  interested  in, 
to  make  the  work  comprehensive,  and  to  give  enough 
information  on  each  subject  to  make  Russia  in  a  certain 
degree  understandable.  To  this  end  a  number  of  the 
chapters  have  gone  through  a  process  of  condensation, 
which  involved  several  re-writings.  The  result  of  this 
work  speaks  for  itself,  and  it  is  given  to  the  public  with 
this  brief  explanation.  Nevin  O.  Winter. 

Toledo,  Ohio,  February,  1913. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface . . v 

CHAPTER  I 

The  Land  and  the  People 

Vastness  of  Empire  —  Siberia  —  Physical  Characteristics  —  The 
Lapplanders  —  Ural  Mountains  —  Rivers  and  Seas  —  Climate 
—  Importance  of  Agriculture  —  Ethnology  —  The  Slav  —  Re¬ 
ligion  —  The  Tartars  —  An  Autocratic  Government  — -  Land  of 
Contrasts . i 


CHAPTER  II 
The  Capital 

Peter  the  Great  —  Nevski  Prospect  —  Inflated  Jehus  —  City  of 
Canals  —  Gostinoi  Dvor  —  Alexandrovski  Runok  —  Narodin  Dom 

—  The  Neva  —  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  —  St.  Isaac’s  —  Kazan 

—  Winter  Palace  —  The  Etat  Major  —  Hermitage  —  Russki 

Museum  —  Peterhof  —  Tsarskoi-Selo  —  Islands  —  Kronstadt  — 
Alexander  Nevski . 22 


CHAPTER  III 
The  Muscovite  Capital 

A  Distinct  Atmosphere  —  Rise  of  Muscovy  —  The  Kremlin  — 
Iberian  Chapel  —  Red  Square  —  An  Architectural  Freak  — 
Napoleon’s  Vandalism  —  The  Holy  Gateway  —  Cathedrals  — 

Beil  Tower  —  Easter  Ceremony  —  Palaces  —  “  The  Baby  ”  — 
Kremlin  Bell  —  Cathedral  of  the  Saviour  —  An  Orthodox  Service 
—  Alexander  III  Memorial  —  Theatre  Square  —  Petrovka  — 
Moscow  Life  —  Police  —  Tretiakoff  Gallery  and  Russian  Art  — 
Foundling  Hospital  —  Sparrow  Hill . 45 

CHAPTER  IV 
Great  Russia 

Peasant  Life  —  The  Izba  —  Harvest  Festivals  —  Simple  Fare  — 
Marriages  —  Rostov  the  Great  Novgorod  —  A  Republic  — 

The  Vetche  —  Ivan  the  Terrible  —  Tula  —  Tolstoi  —  Black 
Earth  Region  —  Orel  —  Kursk  —  A  Market-day  —  A  Typical 

Town  —  Villages  —  Picturesque  Wells . . 

ix 


7i 


X 


Contents 


CHAPTER  V 

Little  Russia 

The  Little  Russians  —  Bright  Costumes  —  The  Steppes  —  The 
Ukraine  —  Villages  —  Windmills  —  Kharkov  —  Marketers  — 
Photographing  —  Poltava  and  Swedish  Defeat  —  Kiev  —  A  Holy 
City  —  St.  Vladimir  —  St.  Sophia  —  Pilgrimages  —  The  Caves 
—  Famous  Monastery  —  Beggars  —  Western  Ukraine  —  Flax  .  88 

CHAPTER  VI 
The  Land  of  the  Cossacks 

Borky  —  Treeless  Steppes  —  Nomadic  Life- — Zaporogians — Don 
Cossacks  —  A  Revolt  —  Soldiers  for  Life  —  Imperial  Guard  — 

The  Don  —  Novo-Tcherkask  —  Tagenrog  —  Rostov-on-Don  .  105 

CHAPTER  VII 
Around  the  Black  Sea 

Medley  of  Passengers  —  The  Argonauts  —  Black  Sea  —  Steamers  — 
Batoum  —  The  Caucasus  —  Georgians  and  Armenians  —  Tiflis  — 

Baku  —  Petroleum  —  Dariel  Pass  —  Novorossisk  —  Kertch  — 
Theodosia  —  Kherson  —  Nicolaiev  —  Odessa  - —  Due  de  Riche¬ 
lieu —  High  Life  —  Jews  —  Hotbed  of  Anarchy  ....  117 


CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Crimea 

Playground  of  Russia  —  Historical  Ground  —  Scythians  —  A  Rus¬ 
sian  Pompeii  —  Tartars  —  Bakshisarai  - —  Sevastopol  —  Foreign 
Cemeteries  —  Balaklava  —  Russian  Riviera  —  A  Beautiful  Ride 
—  Magnificent  Villas  —  Livadia  —  Ialta  —  Derekoi  .  .  .  139 


CHAPTER  IX 
The  Volga 

Importance  to  Russia  —  Tartar  Invasion  —  Oka  River  —  Travelling 
—  Mohammedans  —  Germans  —  Kazan  —  Kama  River  —  Eka¬ 
terinburg  • — •  Samara  —  Kumys  —  Astrakhan  —  Sturgeon  — 
Caviar  —  Bashkirs  and  Kirghiz  —  Nijni  Novgorod  and  the  Great 
Fair . 160 


CHAPTER  X 
Finland  and  the  Finns 

A  Democratic  People  —  A  Water-Logged  Land  —  Hogland  —  Forests 

—  Russian  Tyranny — >Viborg — Falls  of  Imatra  —  Saima  Canal 

—  Nyslot  —  Kuopio  —  Helsingfors  —  Sveaborg  —  University  — 

Woman  Suffrage  — -  Art  and  Literature  —  Kalevala  —  Abo  — 
Tammerfors . 178 


Contents 


XI 


CHAPTER  XI 

Poland  and  the  Baltic  Provinces 

German  Characteristics  —  Hanseatic  League  —  Teutonic  Knights  — 
Letts  and  Esthonians  —  Livonians  —  Reval  —  Riga  —  Lithuania 
—  Vilna  —  “  Grand  Army  ”  —  Poland  —  Suppression  of  Polish 
Nationality  —  Polish  Retaliation  —  Warsaw  —  Lodz 


CHAPTER  XII 
Noble  and  Tchinovnik 

Many  Classes  —  Regulations  of  Peter  the  Great  —  Merchants  and 
Artisans  —  The  Stchety  —  Guilds  —  Army  of  Nobles  —  Their 
Poverty  —  Descendants  of  Rurik  —  Russian  Equality  —  The 
Fourteen  Ranks  of  T chins . 213 

CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes 

Predominance  of  Agriculture  —  Origin  of  Serfdom  —  Emancipation 
—  Mir  —  Communes  —  Land  Captain  —  Poor  Farming  —  Cry 
for  Land  —  Monjik  —  Laziness  —  Queer  Ideas  —  Effect  of  Eman¬ 
cipation  —  Drunkenness  —  Artisans  —  “  Go-aways  ”  —  Co¬ 
operative  Institutions . 221 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates 

Polish  Jews  —  Pale  of  Settlement  —  Special  Ordinances  —  The 
Bund  —  Segregation  —  The  Ghetto  —  Fanaticism  —  Idiosyncra¬ 
sies  —  Women  —  The  Rabbi  —  Money  Lenders  —  Educational 
Disadvantages  —  Persecutions  —  Kishinev  Massacre  —  Odessa 
Riots . 241 


CHAPTER  XV 

Some  Customs  and  Characteristics 

Russian  Traits  and  Inconsistencies  —  Nichevo  —  Lack  of  Discipline 
over  Self  —  Procrastination  —  Good  Nature  —  Tipping  —  Love 
of  Music  —  Tea  —  Eating  —  Kvass  —  Vodka  —  Lack  of  Ventila¬ 
tion  —  Heating  —  Russian  Baths  —  Bargaining  —  Picture  Signs 
—  Funerals . 260 


CHAPTER  XVI 
Education  and  Literature 

Confusion  of  Educational  System  —  Lack  of  Teachers  —  Censorship 
of  Universities  —  Poverty  of  Students  —  Newspapers  —  Novoe 
Vremya  —  Moscow  Gazette  —  Literature  —  Pushkin  —  Turgeniev 
—  Dostoyevski  —  Tolstoi . 277 


XI 1 


Contents 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Religious  Forces 

Reverence  of  Russians  —  Orthodox  Church  —  Holy  Synod  —  Procu¬ 
rator  —  Icons  —  Shrines  —  Pilgrimages  —  Ceremonies  —  “  Bless¬ 
ing  the  Waters  ”  —  White  Clergy  —  The  Pop  —  Black  Clergy  — 
Troitsj  Monastery  • —  Reforms  of  Nikon  —  Strange  Beliefs  — 
Non-Orthodox  Churches . 293 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  Rise  of  Muscovite  Supremacy 

The  Slavs  —  Varangians  ■ —  Rurik  —  Vladimir  —  Yaroslav  —  Tartar 
Empire  —  The  Dolgorukis  —  Vassili  the  Blind  —  Ivan  the  Great 
—  Ivan  the  Terrible  —  Barbaric  Russia  —  Feodor  —  Boris  Go¬ 
dunov —  The  False  Dmitri . 317 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Peter  the  Great  and  the  Early  Romanovs 

Brigand  of  Touchino  —  Michael  Romanov  —  Alexis  Michaelovitch  — 
Sophia  and  Her  Strange  Rule  —  Youth  of  Peter  the  Great  —  His 
Journeys  of  Investigation  —  Reforms  —  Wars  — -  Unhappy  Do¬ 
mestic  Life  —  Death  of  the  Czarevitch . 332 


CHAPTER  XX 
The  Empresses 

Catherine  I  —  Peter  II  —  The  Two  Annes  —  Uncrowned  Ivan  VI  — 
Elizabeth  —  Peter  III  —  Catherine  the  Great  —  Denationaliza¬ 
tion  of  Poland  —  Wars  with  Turkey  — -  Reforms  of  Catherine  .  346 


CHAPTER  XXI 

First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century 

Paul  I  —  Alexander  I  —  Meetings  with  Napoleon  - —  Grand  Army  — 

Vilna  —  Retreat  from  Moscow  —  Capture  of  Paris  —  Change  in 
Alexander  —  Nicholas  I  —  A  Real  Autocrat  —  Polish  Insurrection 
—  Crimean  War  —  A  Disillusioned  Czar . 359 

CHAPTER  XXII 
The  Emancipation  and  Reaction 

Alexander  II  —  End  of  Crimean  War  —  Revolution  in  Poland  — 

War  with  Turkey  —  Plevna  —  Emancipation  and  Reform  —  Ni¬ 
hilism  and  Death  of  Alexander  —  Alexander  III  —  Repressive 
Measures — Siberian  Exile  System . 379 


Contents 


Xlll 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance 

His  Accession  —  Marriage  —  Disappointment  of  Liberals  —  Wealth 
—  War  with  Japan  —  Port  Arthur  —  Treaty  of  Portsmouth  — 
Shuster  Incident  —  Jewish  Passport  Question  - —  Growth  of  Rus¬ 
sia  —  Siberia  —  Non-Russian  Subjects  —  Army  and  Navy  —  Rail¬ 
roads  —  Imports  and  Exports  —  Revenue  —  Manufacturing  — 

Low  Wages . 390 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
Nihilism  and  Revolution 

Origin  of  Nihilism  —  Government  Aroused  —  Terrorism  and  Its  Out¬ 
come  —  Assassination  of  the  Czar  —  Reaction  —  Labour  Troubles 
—  “  Pogroms  ”  —  Zemstvo  Congress  and  Its  Demands  —  Father 
Gapon  —  “  Bloody  Sunday  ”  —  Disturbances  in  Moscow  ■ —  Mur¬ 
ders  and  Executions  —  Era  of  Assassination  —  Plehve  —  Grand 
Duke  Sergius  —  Czar’s  Manifesto  —  Stolypin  .  .  .  .411 


CHAPTER  XXV 
Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 

Growth  of  Autocracy  —  Ruling  Caste  —  The  Bureaucrats  —  Official 
Delay  —  Council  of  the  Empire  —  Ministries  —  Dualism  of  Con¬ 
trol  —  Territorial  Divisions  —  Ukases  —  Press  Censorship  ■ — 

Martial  Law  —  Passport  System  —  Corruption  —  Inefficiency  of 
Police  —  Russian  Officials . 432 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

The  Beginnings  of  Representative  Government 

Zemstvo  —  Volost  — •  Local  Improvements  —  Town  Council  —  First 
Duma  —  Council  of  the  Empire  —  The  Cadets  —  Taurida  Palace 
—  Second  Duma  —  Imperial  Interference  —  Third  Duma  —  Elec¬ 
tion  of  Fourth  Duma . 448 


Appendices 


Index 


467 

481 


. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Nicholas  II . Frontispiece 

Map  of  Russia  in  Europe . Facing  r 

A  Family  of  Russian  Lapps . 7 

Nevski  Prospect,  St.  Petersburg.  —  Fontanka  Canal,  St.  Petersburg  29 
Monument  to  Peter  the  Great,  St.  Petersburg.  —  Cathedral  of  St. 

Isaac’s,  St.  Petersburg . 33 

River  Front  of  the  Kremlin,  Moscow.  —  Iberian  Chapel,  Moscow  .  50 

The  Red  Square  and  the  Church  of  St.  Basil  the  Blessed  .  .  .  52 

The  Kremlin  Bell,  Moscow . .  .  ,  .58 

The  Imperial  Theatre,  Moscow . 62 

A  Tartar  Merchant,  Moscow . 64 

Crowning  Peasant  Girls  with  Wreaths  of  Com  during  a  Harvest 

Festival  . 73 

Farm  House  with  Old-fashioned  Well . g7 

A  Little  Russian  Cottage.  —  A  Windmill  on  the  Steppes  .  .  g2 

Views  of  the  Market,  Kharkov . g 4 

Little  Russian  Peasants.  —  Little  Russian  Girls,  Kharkov  .  .  96 

Women  of  Podolia  Stamping  Flax  in  a  Pond . 104 

The  Czar  and  a  Cossack  Guard . . 

Cossacks  at  Rostov.  —  On  the  Don . u6 

Deck  Passengers  on  the  Black  Sea.  —  Russian  Priest  .  .  .118 

Types  at  Novorossisk . . . 

A  Russian  Bill-board,  Odessa.  —  The  Museum,  Odessa  .  .  .  137 

Balaklava . 1148 

The  Large  Palace,  Livadia . 154 

Ialta . 156 

Tartar  Boys.  — •  Tartar  Family  at  Derekoi . 158 

A  Volga  Steamer . 164 

Nijni  Novgorod  and  the  Volga,  from  the  Kremlin.  ....  172 

The  Lower  Town,  Nijni  Novgorod.  —  The  Kremlin,  Nijni  Nov¬ 
gorod  . 174 

The  Fish  Market,  Viborg . 185 

Public  Buildings,  Helsingfors.  —  Water  Front,  Helsingfors  .  .  192 

Finnish  Children . jq3 


xv 


XVI 


List  of  Illustrations 


PAGE 


Jewish  Quarter,  Vilna 

207 

One  of  the  Parks  of  Warsaw  . 

.  211 

Peasants  at  Work  in  the  Fields 

229 

Jewish  Quarter,  Warsaw  . 

.  246 

Russian  Jews.  —  Jewish  Children 

.  250 

Picture  Signs  on  Russian  Stores 

•  273 

Russian  School  Children 

.  278 

Leo  Tolstoi . 

.  292 

Pilgrims  Arriving  at  Kharkov  . 

.  300 

A  Russian  Monastery 

•  309 

Ivan  the  Great . 

.  326 

Peter  the  Great . 

•  340 

Catherine  the  Great  .... 

•  352 

Alexander  I . 

.  368 

Empress  Alexandra.  —  Grand  Duchess  Olga  . 

•  392 

The  Czarevitch,  Grand  Duke  Alexis 

•  394 

A  Police  Round-up  of  Suspects 

.  424 

Polish  Electors  Selecting  Delegates  to  the  First  Duma 

•  454 

Longitude 


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THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE  OF 
TO-DAY  AND  YESTERDAY 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  LAND  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

Vastness  of  Empire  —  Siberia  —  Physical  Characteristics  —  The  Lapp- 
landers  —  Ural  Mountains  —  Rivers  and  Seas  —  Climate  —  Im¬ 
portance  of  Agriculture  —  Ethnology  —  The  Slav  —  Religion  —  The 
Tartars  —  An  Autocratic  Government  —  Land  of  Contrasts. 

“  Russia  is  not  a  state,  but  a  world,”  a  leading  Rus¬ 
sian  statesman  is  quoted  as  saying  not  long  ago.  A 
French  writer  would  change  the  conventional  geograph¬ 
ical  distinction  between  Europe  and  Asia,  and  make 
three  divisions  of  that  greatest  of  all  the  continents, 
designating  them  as  Asia,  Europe,  and  the  Empire  of 
the  Czars.  This  does  not  seem  so  unreasonable  when 
one  considers  that  Asia  and  Europe  are  one  great  nat¬ 
ural  division,  and  that  the  present  boundary  between 
Europe  and  Siberia  is  entirely  arbitrary.  The  physical 
characteristics  of  European  Russia  are  extended  over 
into  her  Asiatic  possessions.  In  climate  and  natural 
characteristics  all  of  Russia  differs  more  or  less  from 
Asia  proper  and  Western  Europe. 

Russia  is  a  country  the  greatness  of  which  grows 
upon  you  as  you  travel  across  it.  Its  chief  characteristic, 
says  a  writer,  is  “  unity  in  immensity.”  From  east  to 
west  it  extends  over  more  than  one  hundred  and  seventy 

1 


2 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

degrees  of  longitude,  or  nearly  half  the  circuit  of  the 
globe.  From  Middle  Europe  this  expansive  country 
reaches  to  within  a  half-hundred  miles  of  Alaska,  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  about  seven  thousand  miles,  with  more  than 
twice  the  area  of  Europe.  Russia  includes  one-sixth  the 
landed  surface  of  the  earth.  It  is  second  only  to  the 
British  Empire  in  extent  of  area.  In  contrast  to  the 
British  Empire,  however,  Russia  has  the  great  advan¬ 
tage  that  the  whole  of  its  territory  is  contiguous  and 
forms  one  vast  whole.  European  Russia  alone  is  two- 
thirds  the  size  of  the  United  States,  and  occupies  about 
sixty  per  cent,  of  the  total  area  of  Europe.  The  rest 
of  Europe  is  shared  among  almost  a  score  of  republics, 
monarchies,  and  principalities.  In  topography  Russia 
differs  greatly  from  Western  Europe.  There  is  no  other 
European  land,  excepting  the  small  kingdoms  of  Holland 
and  Belgium,  that  does  not  possess  within  its  borders 
a  great  mountain  system.  Furthermore,  the  rest  of  Eu¬ 
rope  is  everywhere  broken  up  by  inland  seas  and  pierced 
by  deep  gulfs.  Its  shores  abound  in  peninsulas,  prom¬ 
ontories  and  capes.  Russia,  on  the  contrary,  seems 
rather  a  continuation  of  the  plains  of  Northern  Asia. 
With  nearly  twice  the  landed  surface  of  the  rest  of 
Europe,  it  has  only  one-third  as  much  seacoast,  and 
most  of  this  is  on  the  Arctic  waters,  which  are  navigable 
only  a  few  months  in  the  year. 

Asiatic  Russia  is  much  larger  than  European  Russia, 
being  three  times  as  extensive,  but  Asiatic  Russia  is 
not  real  Russia.  Siberia  was  first  used  almost  solely  as 
a  place  of  banishment  for  political  offenders.  As  the 
fertility  of  the  land  became  known,  it  made  a  place  of 
migration  for  the  surplus  agricultural  population,  and 
through  this  means  the  population  has  greatly  increased. 
The  Trans-Siberian  Railway  took  with  it  a  narrow  band 


The  Land  and  the  People 


3 


of  Russian  development,  but  large  sections  of  this  vast 
territory  have  received  scarcely  any  attention.  As  Rus¬ 
sia  has  spread  out  southward  it  has  taken  in  an  alien 
Asiatic  people,  who  inhabited  Turkestan  and  the  out¬ 
lying  edges  of  Persia  and  Afghanistan,  but  they  have 
not  yet  been  Russianized.  They  simply  acknowledge  the 
rule  of  the  Russian  bear.  This  idea  of  expansion  in 
Asia  has  been  a  prominent  feature  of  Russian  policy 
for  more  than  a  century. 

In  a  broad  sense  Russia  proper  is  confined  to  Euro¬ 
pean  Russia,  where  five-sixths  of  her  population  dwell. 
In  a  strict  sense  real  Russia  covers  only  a  portion  of  the 
more  than  two  million  square  miles  that  lie  within  the  bor¬ 
ders  of  that  continent.  This  narrower  definition  would 
certainly  eliminate  Finland,  Poland,  the  Baltic  Prov¬ 
inces,  Bessarabia,  and  the  Caucasus,  and  probably  a  part 
of  the  land  of  the  Don  Cossacks,  the  Crimea,  and  the 
sections  bordering  on  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the  lower 
Volga.  In  other  words,  the  real  Russia  has  developed 
within  this  narrower  section,  and  whatever  of  Russian 
characteristics  appear  in  the  eliminated  sections  have 
simply  been  imposed  by  the  conquerors  upon  a  people 
alien  by  birth  and  language.  Roughly  speaking  the  real 
Russia  lies  within  lines  that  might  be  drawn  through 
Ekaterinoslav,  Kiev,  Pskov,  St.  Petersburg,  Nijni  Nov¬ 
gorod,  and  Saratov.  This  includes  what  is  known  as 
Red  Russia,  White  Russia,  Great  Russia  and  Little  Rus¬ 
sia.  The  alien  population  form  a  sort  of  belt  of  uneven 
width  and  density  around  this  national  centre. 

Although  one  vast  whole,  from  a  geographical  stand¬ 
point,  the  several  sections  of  Russia  are  almost  as  alien 
to  each  other  in  language  and  traditions  as  are  the  many 
divisions  of  the  globe  that  make  up  the  British  Empire. 
In  this  most  uniform  of  geographical  areas  will  be  found 


4 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


the  most  motley  of  human  families.  A  very  large  pro¬ 
portion  of  her  territory  is  still  practically  uninhabited, 
or  only  sparsely  occupied.  Every  phase  of  civilization, 
from  the  highest  to  the  most  primitive,  is  represented. 
Many  of  the  different  nationalities  have  not  a  single 
thing  in  common,  or  a  single  bond  of  union  save  the 
strong  mailed  hand  of  the  military  power  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment.  Should  the  discordant  elements  rise  at  one 
and  the  same  time,  the  Empire  would  break.  But  the 
dissatisfied  components  have  no  point  of  unity. 

Finland  is  an  old  state  and  liberal  in  its  government. 
Even  now  it  has  its  own  constitution,  and  the  people 
enjoy  a  measure  of  liberty  not  found  in  any  other  part 
of  Russia.  The  Baltic  Provinces  are  Teutonic  in  char¬ 
acteristics,  and  the  German  language  will  be  heard  far 
more  than  the  Russian.  The  cities  are  like  old  German 
towns  in  architecture.  The  Polish  Provinces  are  far 
different  from  Russia,  even  though  the  Poles  are  like¬ 
wise  of  Slavonic  origin.  During  their  long  independence 
Poland  had  developed  a  civilization  all  its  own,  which 
has  not  yet  yielded  to  Russian  influences.  The  Cau¬ 
casus  is  inhabited  by  a  mixed  population,  among  whom 
Persian  characteristics  are  most  apparent.  They  are  true 
Asiatics,  and  have  been  the  source  of  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  to  Russia.  Along  the  Volga  from  Nijni  Nov¬ 
gorod  down  was  the  last  stronghold  of  the  Tartars,  and 
the  difference  in  the  people  may  easily  be  seen  in  a  jour¬ 
ney  down  the  river  from  that  city  to  Astrakhan.  Bes¬ 
sarabia  is  essentially  the  same  as  the  Balkan  States,  and 
in  the  Arctic  regions  of  the  north  a  number  of  strange 
tribes  dwell.  Then  all  along  the  western  boundary  from 
the  Black  Sea  to  the  Baltic  will  be  found  a  Jewish  pop¬ 
ulation  of  several  millions,  who  differ  little  from  the 
members  of  the  same  race  who  have  never  migrated 


The  Land  and  the  People 


5 


beyond  the  limits  of  Palestine.  The  Cossacks,  although 
more  loyal  to  the  Russian  government  than  the  other 
races  just  mentioned,  having  at  least  a  common  religion 
to  bind  them,  have  still  retained  their  national  charac¬ 
teristics,  and  a  Cossack  is  still  a  Cossack  wherever  you 
meet  him. 

Russia  is  a  land  of  immense  and  seemingly  endless 
distances.  “  Nothing,”  says  a  writer,  “  gives  a  more 
curious  sensation  of  complete  isolation  than  a  sledge 
driven  over  a  Russian  plain.  The  interminable  waste 
of  dazzling  whiteness,  the  absolute  silence  save  for  the 
rhythmical  clang  of  the  bells  the  horses  wear,  and  the 
soft  rustle  like  that  of  crumpling  silk,  as  the  sledge 
glides  over  the  crystalline  snow,  all  combine  to  give  an 
idea  of  one’s  own  insignificance  compared  with  the  vast 
space  around,  like  that  felt  when  one  is  in  a  small  row¬ 
boat  far  out  at  sea.”  A  uniformity  rather  than  a  diver¬ 
sity  of  landscape  distinguishes  it.  This  fact  has  un¬ 
doubtedly  had  a  great  influence  on  the  ease  with  which 
its  conquests  have  spread.  It  likewise  facilitated  the 
many  inundations  of  foreign  races,  which  preceded  the 
Muscovite  supremacy.  The  aspect  of  vast  prairie  in 
that  part  below  the  timbered  regions  is  limited  only  by 
the  horizon;  and  beyond  that  invisible  line  one  knows 
that  the  same  view  is  presented  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach.  The  Russians  call  these  prairies  steppes.  The 
steppes  are  seemingly  supreme  in  their  own  vast  do¬ 
minions. 

Russia  proper  is  a  vast,  low,  undulating  plateau,  or 
a  huge  plain  which  begins  in  Northern  Asia  and  laps 
over  into  Prussia,  and  is  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
rugged  landscape  of  the  greater  part  of  Europe.  No¬ 
where  will  fences  be  seen.  On  the  big  estates  the  fur¬ 
rows  run  as  far  as  the  vision  extends.  In  the  lands 


6 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


owned  by  the  peasants,  long,  narrow  ditches  separate 
the  allotment  of  one  man  from  that  of  his  neighbour. 
Many  of  these  strips  are  extremely  narrow,  and  a  slender 
belt  of  wheat  will  lie  next  to  an  equally  diminutive 
stretch  of  barley,  oats,  buckwheat,  flax  or  potatoes. 
Great  crops  are  raised  on  this  arable  land,  but  it  has 
been  due  to  the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil  rather  than 
to  any  ability  displayed  in  cultivating  it.  In  no  country 
in  Europe  has  so  much  grain  been  raised  at  so  small 
an  expenditure  of  skill  and  labour. 

Waste,  marshy  land  alternates  with  the  richest  of 
black  loam.  Some  of  these  unproductive  patches  are 
abandoned  to  weeds.  This  may  be  due  to  sheer  want 
of  enterprise,  for  there  may  be  many  acres  and  few 
ihands  to  work  them.  In  spring  and  autumn  much  of 
this  marsh  land  is  under  water.  This  may  be,  as  in 
America,  the  most  fertile  soil  when  once  properly 
drained.  Other  waste  patches  are  covered  with  copse, 
or  maybe  simply  sand-dunes,  where  nothing  will  grow. 
The  soil  of  Russia  is  generally  divided  into  the  Black 
Earth  region,  which  extends  over  the  central  part  of 
the  country  and  even  into  Siberia;  the  zone  of  arable, 
treeless  steppes,  which  lies  south  of  this  Black  Earth 
region;  and  the  barren  steppes,  which  reach  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Dnieper  to  the  shores  of  the  Caspian  Sea. 
The  Black  Earth  zone  is  in  many  respects  the  most  re¬ 
markable  region  in  Russia.  It  owes  its  name  to  a  layer 
of  soil  which  covers  its  surface  to  a  thickness  differing 
from  half  a  yard  to  three  times  that  depth.  This  soil 
is  formed  of  decayed  vegetable  matter  and  is  of  mar¬ 
vellous  fertility.  The  exuberance  of  the  grass  vege¬ 
tation  on  the  arable  steppes  is  marvellous.  The  grass 
shoots  up  to  a  height  of  five  or  six  feet,  and  even  higher 
in  rainy  years.  The  wandering  Cossacks  used  to  be 


A  FAMILY  OF  RUSSIAN  LAPPS 


The  Land  and  the  People 


7 


able  to  hide  both  horses  and  riders  in  the  thickets  of  tall 
grass.  This  primeval  steppe,  the  steppe  of  history  and 
the  poets,  disappears  before  the  onward  march  of  agri¬ 
culture,  however,  just  as  do  the  pampas  of  Argentina 
and  Patagonia.  The  barren  steppes  will  probably  for 
ever  be  incapable  of  cultivation.  This  is  the  dreariest 
and  most  denuded  section  of  Russia,  and  the  soil  is 
deeply  impregnated  with  salt.  In  places  they  support 
vast  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep. 

Northern  Russia  is  a  land  of  snow  and  ice.  Only 
for  three  or  four  months  does  the  snow  disappear  from 
the  level  land.  And  yet  Archangel,  on  the  White  Sea, 
was  the  first  port  through  which  commerce  with  Eng¬ 
land  was  carried  on.  At  the  present  time  a  railroad 
connects  that  port  with  Moscow.  The  settlements  are 
few  and  far  between.  The  great  island  of  Nova  Zembla 
is  practically  without  inhabitants.  East  of  the  White 
Sea  lies  the  Peninsula  of  Kola.  This  is  the  beginning 
of  Russian  Lapland,  which  extends  to  the  Swedish 
boundary.  The  surface  is  either  mountainous,  or  cov¬ 
ered  with  tundras  (moss-grown  wilds)  and  swamps. 
Here  dwell  the  semi-nomadic  Lapps.  In  summer  they 
wander  nearer  the  coasts  and  lakes  for  the  sake  of  fish¬ 
ing.  There  is  little  or  no  attempt  at  agriculture,  for 
turnips  and  a  few  potatoes  are  the  only  vegetables  they 
can  raise.  Their  chief  occupation  is  fishing  and  reindeer 
raising.  The  reindeer  requires  very  little  attention,  as 
it  will  forage  for  itself  winter  and  summer. 

In  the  southern  part  of  Russia  there  is  little  or  no 
forest.  The  timbered  region,  however,  begins  before  you 
reach  Moscow.  East  and  north  of  that  city  are  immense 
wooded  areas.  It  seems  like  a  ceaseless  alternation  of 
firs,  pines  and  silver  birches,  varying  in  height  and  grow¬ 
ing  close  together.  There  is  a  general  absence,  however, 


8 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  the  vines,  creepers  and  parasites  of  all  shapes  and 
colours,  which  turn  tropical  forests  into  inextricable 
tangles.  From  north  to  south  the  different  kinds  of  trees 
succeed  one  another  in  much  the  same  order  as  in  the 
Alps,  from  summit  to  base.  It  is  estimated  that  more 
than  one-third  of  European  Russia  is  covered  with  for¬ 
est  growth.  The  trees  are  remarkable  for  their  height 
to  the  nearest  branches  and  comparative  absence  of  foli¬ 
age,  rather  than  their  great  girth.  In  the  north  the  forest 
begins  with  the  larch,  and  in  the  south  the  lime,  elm  and 
oak  appear.  The  white  bark  of  the  birch  glistens  brightly, 
and  is  the  prettiest  picture  of  Russian  forests.  Mush¬ 
rooms  grow  by  the  million  under  these  trees,  which  ac¬ 
counts  for  the  plentiful  use  of  this  dainty  in  Russian 
cooking. 

The  part  played  by  the  forests  in  Russia  is  very  great, 
and  it  is  continually  being  thrust  on  the  traveller.  As 
wood  is  the  almost  universal  fuel  in  the  greater  part  of 
Russia,  there  is  a  use  for  this  timber.  For  seven  or  eight 
months  the  houses  must  be  heated.  Much  of  the  forest 
in  the  older  sections  is  second,  or,  perhaps,  third  growth. 
Miles  of  racks  of  stove-wood,  cut  and  piled  up  along  the 
track  ready  for  shipment,  testify  to  the  great  demand 
for  the  fuel.  The  locomotive  engines  are  obliged  to 
refill  the  tender  every  little  while  with  this  fuel,  for  a  cord 
does  not  last  long  when  used  to  fire  a  locomotive.  The 
Russian  peasants  are  excellent  woodsmen.  All  winter 
long  the  sound  of  the  axe  may  be  heard  in  the  forests, 
while  men  and  teams  transport  the  firewood  to  the  ship¬ 
ping  points.  In  the  spring  rafts  are  made,  loaded  with 
the  fuel,  and  floated  down  the  rivers  and  canals  to  the 
cities.  The  government  has  a  forestry  commission  at 
work  to  preserve  the  forests.  Schools  of  forestry  have 
also  been  established  where  candidates  for  this  service 


The  Land  and  the  People 


9 


are  instructed.  The  cutting  and  replanting  of  trees  is 
regulated  by  law. 

In  Russia  proper  there  are  no  great  mountains.  There 
are  two  or  three  ridges  that  run  across  the  country  in 
a  northeasterly  direction.  They  are  rather  like  the  swells 
that  one  might  see  on  a  smooth  sea  than  mountains. 
The  principal  one,  which  forms  the  watershed,  extends 
from  the  frontier  of  Poland  to  the  Ural  Mountains.  It 
is  of  only  moderate  height,  and  the  highest  ridge  does 
not  exceed  one  thousand  feet  above  sea  level.  The  Cau¬ 
casus  Mountains,  which  contain  several  very  lofty  peaks, 
separate  Europe  from  Asia  between  the  Black  and  Cas¬ 
pian  Seas.  The  Ural  Mountains  divide  Russia  from 
Siberia  for  a  part  of  the  boundary,  and  some  of  the 
ridges  reach  a  fairly  respectable  height.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  important  geographical  features  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  Empire.  They  extend  in  an  almost  north  and  south 
direction  for  thirteen  or  fourteen  hundred  miles.  They 
are  marked  by  an  absence  of  predominating  peaks,  and 
the  general  elevation  is  comparatively  low.  The  summits 
seldom  rise  beyond  five  thousand  feet  above  sea  level. 
So  gradual  is  the  slope  in  some  places,  that  one  almost 
crosses  the  highest  point  and  is  in  Siberia  before  he 
knows  it.  The  highest  peaks  are  in  the  northern  half, 
and  then  the  altitude  declines  again  toward  the  Arctic 
Ocean. 

The  Ural  Mountains  are  said  to  be  very  rich  in  min¬ 
eral  wealth,  very  little  of  which  has  as  yet  been  exploited. 
In  the  Crimea  there  is  also  a  chain  of  moderately  high 
mountains  that  crosses  the  peninsula.  These  ridges  and 
some  depressions  break  the  uniformity  of  surface,  but 
in  most  places  these  changes  are  so  gradual  that  they 
are  scarcely  noticeable  to  the  unaided  eye.  The  greatest 
depression  is  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Caspian  Sea, 


10 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

which  is  below  sea  level.  This  is  in  reality  the  bed  of 
the  vast  prehistoric  ocean  of  which  the  Caspian  and  Aral 
Seas  are  the  shrunken  remnants. 

The  rivers  of  Russia,  which  are  remarkable  for  their 
number  and  magnitude,  form  one  of  her  greatest  natural 
features,  and  have  had  an  important  effect  in  her  devel¬ 
opment.  Several  of  them  are  great  rivers  in  themselves, 
when  not  compared  with  the  noble  Volga.  The  central 
ridge,  already  referred  to,  sends  the  waters  on  the  north 
side  either  to  the  Arctic  Ocean  or  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  on 
the  south  side  to  the  Black  Sea  or  the  Caspian.  For  a 
long  time  the  rivers  were  the  only  means  of  easy  travel. 
When  the  people  wished  to  journey,  or  a  prince  to  make 
a  campaign,  they  were  obliged  to  wait  until  everything 
was  frozen  and  covered  with  snow,  or  follow  the  course 
of  a  stream.  Boats  in  summer  and  sledges  in  winter 
were  the  means  of  communication.  Hence  Russian  con¬ 
quest  and  colonization  has  everywhere  followed  the  riv¬ 
ers,  which  helped  them  to  conquer  space.  Among  these 
are  the  Vistula,  Don,  Dnieper,  Dniester,  Neva,  and  Bug. 
The  Dnieper  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  these,  and,  if  the 
proper  improvement  would  be  made,  could  furnish  com¬ 
munication  for  goodly-sized  steamers  as  far  as  Kiev. 
Projects  have  been  proposed,  but  the  money  has  not  been 
forthcoming.  It  was  by  this  river  that  fleets  of  war 
descended  against  Constantinople,  and  it  was  by  the 
same  stream  that  Christianity  first  reached  Kiev  through 
the  Greeks.  The  Vistula  is  a  large  river  as  far  as  War¬ 
saw,  and  is  of  considerable  importance  to  that  city.  But 
it  is  not  wholly  a  Russian  waterway.  The  Don  likewise 
has  been  of  the  greatest  use  to  the  Cossacks,  and  hun¬ 
dreds  of  boats  pass  up  and  down  that  stream  daily. 

All  of  these  rivers  pale  before  the  Volga,  one  of  the 
world’s  greatest  waterways.  It  may  be  compared  to 


The  Land  and  the  People 


11 


our  own  Mississippi,  for  one  of  its  tributaries,  the  Oka, 
is  six  hundred  miles  long.  The  Kama,  another  affluent, 
is  larger  than  any  other  European  river  except  the  Dan¬ 
ube.  The  Volga  is  a  noble  stream,  and  large  steamers 
ply  regularly  during  the  open  season  a  considerable  dis¬ 
tance  above  Nijni  Novgorod.  The  annual  tonnage 
reaches  large  figures.  It  varies  in  width  from  a  half- 
mile  to  a  mile,  but  in  places  spreads  out  over  the  lowland 
many  miles.  At  its  mouth  it  divides  into  a  delta  nearly 
a  hundred  miles  wide,  in  which  are  many  islands.  The 
waters  abound  in  enormous  fish,  which  are  as  large  as 
those  of  the  sea.  The  basin  of  the  Volga  is  almost  thrice 
the  size  of  Texas.  It  was  by  way  of  the  Volga  and  its 
branches  that  the  Asiatic  influences  spread  over  Russia. 
By  a  canal  continuous  communication  is  made  with  the 
Neva,  and  through  it  with  the  Baltic  Sea.  It  is  an  inter¬ 
esting  even  though  monotonous  trip  down  the  Volga 
River  from  Nijni  to  the  Caspian  Sea. 

To  her  seas  Russia  also  owes  much.  To  the  south  she 
now  has  the  Black  and  Caspian  Seas,  both  of  which  are 
useful  to  commerce.  The  Caspian  Sea  is  more  than  five 
times  as  large  as  Lake  Superior.  It  is  six  hundred  miles 
long,  with  an  average  width  of  two  hundred  miles.  In 
places  it  is  half  a  mile  or  more  deep,  but  in  others  it  is 
quite  shallow.  It  receives  several  large  rivers  but  has 
no  visible  outlet,  so  that  its  waters  are  salty,  but  not  to 
as  great  a  degree  as  the  ocean.  The  Caspian  Sea,  which 
is  really  a  great  lake,  is  a  valuable  medium  of  communi¬ 
cation  between  the  Caucasus  and  Trans-Caspian  prov¬ 
inces,  as  well  as  for  trade  with  Persia,  but  it  has  no  out¬ 
let  to  the  Black  Sea,  and,  owing  to  its  sunken  level,  may 
never  have  such  a  connection. 

The  Black  Sea  in  particular  is  of  great  advantage,  and 
there  are  many  lines  of  steamers  that  traverse  it.  It 


12 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


gives  a  good  outlet  to  the  Mediterranean,  and  through 
it  to  the  Atlantic.  The  White  Sea  at  the  north  is  open 
only  a  small  part  of  the  year  to  navigation,  and  Arch¬ 
angel  was  at  one  time  an  important  seaport.  In  recent 
years,  however,  its  importance  has  decreased.  Until  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  coast-line  of  Russia 
was  confined  to  the  waters  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  it 
was  only  by  conquest  that  her  frontiers  were  extended 
to  the  Black  and  Baltic  Seas.  It  is  almost  pathetic  to 
read  of  the  ceaseless  struggle  Russia  has  kept  up  to  secure 
and  maintain  these  means  of  communication  with  the 
outer  world. 

The  greatest  ports  of  Russia  are  those  that  are  situated 
on  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  the  Gulfs  of  Bothnia,  Finland, 
and  Riga.  Libau  is  the  only  port  that  has  its  roadstead 
open  practically  the  entire  year.  Here  Russia  has  an 
unimpeded  access  to  the  seas,  thanks  to  the  sagacity  and 
foresight  of  Peter  the  Great.  The  Turkish  authority 
over  the  Dardanelles  has  always  been  a  hindrance  to 
Russian  navigation.  The  very  recent  war  between  Italy 
and  Turkey  only  emphasized  this  difficulty,  when  Italy 
blockaded  Constantinople  and  the  Turks  set  mines  in  the 
harbour.  For  weeks  merchant  vessels  of  Russia  and 
other  neutral  nations  were  unable  to  enter  or  leave  the 
Black  Sea,  and  the  commerce  of  Russia  was  greatly  im¬ 
peded  thereby.  The  lakes  of  Russia  are  also  on  a  scale 
of  magnificence.  Lake  Ladoga  is  the  largest  lake  in 
Europe.  Lower  Finland  is  practically  a  network  of 
lakes,  and  the  basin  of  the  Volga  also  has  many  lakes. 
These  numerous  seas,  lakes  and  rivers  likewise  provide 
Russia  with  the  fish  supplies,  which  constitute  such  an 
important  item  in  the  food  of  the  country.  The  Russian 
could  not  live  without  his  fresh  and  smoked  fish,  and 
life  without  frequent  caviar  would  be  unendurable. 


The  Land  and  the  People 


13 


Extending  over  thirty-five  degrees  of  latitude,  there  is 
naturally  considerable  diversity  in  the  climate.  The 
polar  region  is  certainly  much  colder  than  the  Black  Sea 
districts.  In  general,  however,  the  climate  of  Russia  is 
an  austere  one.  The  winters  are  long  and  severe.  In 
the  winter  time  one  could  travel  from  Archangel  to 
Astrakhan  by  sledge.  As  one  proceeds  east  from  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  Europe,  where  the  climate  is  tempered 
by  the  genial  Gulf  Stream,  the  climate  becomes  pro¬ 
gressively  colder.  I  landed  in  Havre,  France,  early  in 
April.  The  fruit  trees  were  in  blossom,  the  foliage  of 
the  trees  was  out,  and  garden  vegetables  were  above  the 
ground.  A  month  later  I  was  in  the  same  latitude  in 
Russia,  south  of  Moscow,  and  the  season  was  not  nearly 
so  far  advanced.  It  was  an  unusually  backward  spring, 
but  the  comparison  will  hold  good  any  year.  The  vast 
plains,  being  without  a  barrier  at  the  north  to  keep  out 
the  polar  winds,  permit  their  icy  breath  to  sweep  over 
their  surface.  Owing  to  the  small  extent  of  water  to 
landed  surface,  the  climate  lacks  the  modifying  effects 
of  sea  breezes,  which  might  modify  the  low  temperature 
of  winter  and  the  high  temperature  of  summer.  Hence 
the  extremes  of  heat  in  summer  and  cold  in  winter  are 
very  great.  In  Southern  Russia  the  thermometer  often 
remains  near  one  hundred  degrees  for  two  months  in 
the  summer,  while  the  Sea  of  Azov  is  frozen  over  from 
November  to  April.  “  On  the  confines  of  Asia,  in  the 
parched  Kirghiz  steppes,  under  the  latitude  of  Cen¬ 
tral  France,”  says  Mr.  Leroy-Beaulieu,  “the  mer^ 
cury  congeals  and  remains  congealed  for  several 
days,  while  in  July  the  thermometer  may  burst  in  the 
sun.” 

Certain  sections  of  the  country  also  lack  moisture, 
because  the  winds  do  not  reach  them  until  they  have  lost 


14 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

their  humidity.  This  results  in  numerous  droughts.  The 
long  winters  mean  a  long,  inactive  period  for  the  poor 
peasant  in  the  country,  when  he  can  do  little  or  nothing 
to  earn  money.  In  the  forest  region  he  can  cut  timber, 
but  in  the  treeless  regions  there  is  nothing  to  do  unless 
there  is  some  local  industry  in  which  he  can  engage  to 
earn  some  money.  And  yet  he  and  his  family  must  live, 
and  fuel  must  be  provided  to  keep  his  little  cottage  warm. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  the  mere  problem  of  existence  is 
a  serious  one  for  the  poor  dweller  on  the  treeless  steppes 
of  this  vast  empire. 

Russia  is  still  a  country  of  agriculturists.  Nearly 
every  Russian,  whether  living  in  the  city  or  not,  is  either 
a  landowner  or  has  some  family  interest  in  land.  All 
of  the  nobles,  except  the  impoverished  ones,  possess  land. 
The  merchants  own  millions  of  acres,  for  they  invest 
their  surplus  earnings  in  that  way.  Most  Russian  work¬ 
men  in  the  cities  still  retain  their  membership  in  the  vil¬ 
lage  commune,  and  thus  have  their  proportionate  inter¬ 
est  in  the  village  holdings.  Nearly  every  Russian,  there¬ 
fore,  has  strong  ties  which  bind  him  to  the  land.  At 
least  one  hundred  millions  of  the  Russians  are  engaged 
in  or  directly  interested  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
This  fact  is  not  fully  appreciated  by  many  writers  upon 
the  country. 

The  scarcity  of  towns  astonishes  the  traveller  who 
has  visited  other  parts  of  Europe.  The  urban  popula¬ 
tion  does  not  exceed  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants, 
which  seems  strange  when  compared  with  seventy-two 
per  cent,  in  England.  This  proportion  will  be  still 
smaller,  if  only  the  Russian  race  is  considered.  Nearly 
all  the  foreigners  living  in  Russia,  with  the  exception  of 
some  German  settlements,  reside  in  or  near  the  towns. 
In  addition,  nearly  all  of  the  five  or  six  million  Jews 


The  Land  and  the  People 


15 


are  city  dwellers.  It  i§  estimated  that  this  race  consti¬ 
tutes  one-fifth  of  the  urban  population  in  European  Rus¬ 
sia.  Within  the  Jewish  Pale,  a  strip  of  territory  a  thou¬ 
sand  miles  long  and  three  hundred  miles  wide,  including 
fifteen  governments,  beside  Poland,  the  Jews  comprise 
from  one-third  to  three-fourths  of  the  population  in  the 
cities.  When  these  facts  are  considered,  it  becomes  very 
evident  that  purely  Russian  life  in  towns  is  that  of  but 
a  small  fraction  of  the  Russian  people.  Even  in  the 
United  States,  a  much  newer  country  than  Russia,  about 
half  of  the  population  are  urban.  There  are  only  one 
hundred  and  four  towns  in  Russia  of  twenty-five  thou¬ 
sand  or  over. 

Prolific  as  the  Russian  race  is,  it  has  not  been  able 
to  keep  up  with  the  territorial  expansion.  The  average 
density  of  population  per  square  mile  does  not  exceed 
fifteen,  and  the  most  densely  populated  section,  that 
around  Moscow,  is  not  much  more  than  one-third  that 
of  England.  In  every  direction  there  has  been  a  bound¬ 
less  expanse  of  fertile  land  awaiting  immigrants.  Fur¬ 
thermore,  the  influence  of  serfage  still  remains,  although 
the  institution  has  been  abolished.  At  one  time  it  was 
found  necessary  to  chain  the  town  people  to  their  habi¬ 
tations  in  the  same  way  in  order  to  prevent  the  towns 
from  being  depopulated. 

Russia  furnishes  an  interesting  study  in  ethnology. 
Nowhere  else  in  Europe,  unless  it  is  Austria,  can  such 
a  variety  of  races  be  found.  One  student  of  ethnology 
has  distinguished  no  fewer  than  forty-seven  non-Russian 
races  as  dwelling  in  European  Russia  alone.  In  Asia 
there  are  probably  as  many  more.  Ethnographically 
they  can  be  comprised  under  two  of  the  great  divisions 
of  the  human  race  —  the  Caucasian  and  Mongolian. 
But  under  each  a  number  of  varieties  can  be  traced. 


16 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


There  are  Finns,  Lapps,  Poles,  Germans,  Lithuanians, 
Letts,  Esthonians,  Great  and  Little  Russians,  Jews,  Bul¬ 
garians,  Greeks,  Tartars,  Swedes,  Circassians,  Kirghiz, 
Kalmucks,  Bashkirs,  Armenians,  and  Persians,  and  this 
does  not  exhaust  the  list.  The  Finns,  although  Mon¬ 
golians,  have  little  or  none  of  the  characteristics  of  that 
race.  There  are  many  settlements  of  pure  Finns  in  Fin¬ 
land  and  Northern  Russia,  but  there  is  a  generous  admix¬ 
ture  of  Swedish  blood  in  the  provinces  of  Finland.  The 
Slavs,  who  form  the  great  bulk  of  the  population,  are 
a  branch  of  the  great  Aryan  family.  The  Poles  and 
Russians  differ  widely,  for  the  former  fell  under  the 
influence  of  Western  Europe  and  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  and  the  latter  remained  Byzantine.  This  fact 
alone  accounts  for  their  many  differences. 

The  religious  census  includes  Greek,  Orthodox,  Lu¬ 
therans,  Roman  Catholics,  Mennonites,  Talmudists,  Jews, 
Buddhists,  Shamanites,  Mohammedans,  and  heathen  of 
all  descriptions.  This  variety  is  greatly  the  result  of 
conquest,  but  also  of  the  policy  of  Catherine  II,  who 
invited  many  colonists  to  come  to  Russia.  Thousands 
accepted  her  invitation  and  settled  in  the  country.  Of 
all  who  came  Germans  were  by  far  the  most  numerous. 
There  are  many  of  these  German  colonists  in  the  south¬ 
eastern  part  of  European  Russia,  in  the  region  of  the 
Caucasus.  Catherine  thought  the  Germans  would  help 
the  peasants  by  example.  But  such  has  not  been  the  case. 
They  live  side  by  side  in  many  places,  and  the  Germans 
remain  German,  while  the  Russian  is  still  Russian  — 
and  this  after  four  or  five  generations  have  passed.  One 
may  likewise  find  villages  half  Russian  and  half  Tartar. 
At  one  end  will  be  a  Christian  church,  and  at  the  other 
a  Mohammedan  mosque.  The  two  parts  form  one  vil¬ 
lage  commune,  one  Mir,  and  have  done  so  for  several 


The  Land  and  the  People 


17 


generations,  but  there  has  been  no  amalgamation.  It 
shows  the  conservative  spirit  of  the  Russian  peasant, 
which  almost  approaches  stubbornness.  The  nobles  are 
different,  for  they  adopt  foreign  ways,  and  even  vices, 
very  readily.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  difference  in  relig¬ 
ion  that  has  kept  Russian,  German,  Pole,  and  Finn,  as 
well  as  their  neighbours,  from  assimilating  with  the 
other  races,  but  there  is  likewise  a  national  characteristic 
of  apathy,  indifference  and  conservatism  that  helps  as 
well, 

Religion  in  Russia  is  a  matter  of  vital  interest,  and 
of  great  importance  as  well  when  studying  the  people. 
They  are  intensely  religious.  Like  Spain,  Russia  was 
for  a  long  time  under  Moslem  domination,  and  during 
this  period  the  Church  was  the  rallying  point  for  the 
vanquished  race.  This  fact  helped  to  develop  the  relig¬ 
ious  fanaticism  of  Spain,  which  was  carried  into  the 
New  World,  and  it  intensified  the  devotion  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  peasantry  to  the  Orthodox  Church.  The  victory 
having  been  won,  the  Russians,  like  the  Spaniards,  have 
considered  devotion  to  the  Church  as  the  very  corner¬ 
stone  of  patriotism.  It  means  more  than  a  creed,  which 
may  be  believed  or  not,  and  its  renunciation  is,  in  the 
eyes  of  the  majority  of  Russians,  an  outrage  upon  and 
insult  to  the  nation  itself.  Furthermore,  every  other 
country  in  Europe  was  tried  in  the  furnace  of  the  Ref¬ 
ormation,  and  the  successful  or  unsuccessful  political 
revolutions  that  followed.  Russia  never  had  this  purify¬ 
ing  and  regenerating  force.  Hence  it  is  that  much  that 
is  now  only  a  picturesque  tradition  in  the  other  countries 
of  Europe  is  still  a  living  force  of  great  power  in  Rus¬ 
sia.  In  religious  matters,  as  well  as  in  other  relations 
of  life,  Russia  in  many  respects  is  still  living  in  the  spirit 
of  the  Middle  Ages. 


18 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

—  .  .  --  ■  ■ 

The  Tartar,  or  Tatar,  invasion  came  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  This  race  of  Mongolian  stock  had  existed  and 
flourished  for  a  long  time  in  the  hilly  country  to  the 
north  of  China.  It  was  not  especially  warlike  until  one 
Genghis  Khan  arose  among  them.  “  As  there  is  but 
one  God  in  Heaven,”  he  said,  “  so  there  should  be  but 
one  ruler  on  earth.”  He  gathered  together  his  hosts  and 
started  towards  the  west.  It  was  not  so  much  the  move¬ 
ment  of  an  army  but  of  a  people.  Their  families  and 
flocks  went  with  them.  The  grass  of  the  steppes  fed  the 
flocks,  and  the  flocks  furnished  food  for  the  people.  As 
they  proceeded  they  met  other  migratory  tribes,  who 
joined  them  for  the  sake  of  booty.  They  reached  beyond 
the  boundaries  of  present-day  Russia.  They  did  not  seek 
the  ownership  of  the  soil  so  much  as  tribute.  As  soon 
as  a  prince  acknowledged  the  authority  of  the  Khan, 
and  agreed  to  pay  a  certain  annual  tribute,  he  was  left 
undisturbed  in  his  laws  and  religion.  So  great  was 
their  liberality  that  they  allowed  a  Christian  chapel  to 
be  built  in  their  capital,  and  some  of  the  royal  family 
even  embraced  Christianity.  The  princes  of  Russia  soon 
got  used  to  this  condition,  and  freely  paid  the  tribute. 
They  even  increased  it  in  order  to  secure  the  Tartar  help 
against  other  princes.  Had  the  Khans  had  more  fore¬ 
sight,  their  rule  might  have  lasted  much  longer.  But 
they  did  not  use  great  political  talent,  if  they  possessed 
it.  As  a  result  the  Grand  Prince  of  Moscow  gained  the 
upper  hand,  and  one  after  another  the  Khans  were  sub¬ 
dued  and  Russian  rule  followed. 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  prior  to  the  time  of  Peter 
the  Great  Russia  was  a  comparatively  unimportant  coun¬ 
try  in  the  world  at  large  and  Europe  in  particular.  It 
was  to  all  intents  and  purposes  an  inland  country,  with¬ 
out  an  outlet  to  the  Baltic  or  Mediterranean.  The  west- 


The  Land  and  the  People 


19 


era  nations  still  considered  it  an  uncivilized  land,  and 
classified  the  Russians  with  Oriental  barbarians.  Al¬ 
though  the  czars  claimed  sovereignty  over  some  of  the 
nomad  tribes  that  wandered  over  the  Siberian  steppes, 
it  is  doubtful  if  they  knew  much  of  the  geography  of 
that  terra  incognita.  Even  their  interest  in  those  re¬ 
gions  was  not  very  keen,  because  they  seemed  to  offer 
no  great  return.  A  century  later  all  this  was  changed. 
Peter  the  Great  and  Catherine  the  Great  had  come  and 
gone,  but  their  conquests  remained.  With  conquest  the 
ambition  of  aggrandizement  had  taken  root.  The  “  win¬ 
dow  of  Europe  ”  had  been  built,  and  through  it  the 
Romanovs  looked  out  to  the  West,  but  they  did  not 
forget  the  East.  Expansion  has  gone  on  and  on  —  to 
the  east,  to  the  south  and  to  the  west.  History  has  been 
made,  and  is  still  in  the  making.  Constantinople  lures 
in  the  one  direction,  and  all  the  intervening  land  toward 
British  India  in  another.  The  story  of  this  growth  of 
a  colossal  whole  is  a  fascinating  one,  and  perhaps  the 
unwritten  story  — -  unwritten  because  as  yet  unrevealed 
■ —  which  the  historian  of  the  future  will  write,  may  con¬ 
tain  pages  equally  as  fascinating  as  those  which  describe 
the  events  of  the  past. 

Russia  is  one  of  the  few  autocratic  governments  left. 
For  the  purpose  of  territorial  administration  the  Empire 
is  divided  into  more  than  a  hundred  governments  or 
provinces,  and  each  province  is  again  subdivided  into 
districts.  These  provinces  and  districts  vary  greatly  in 
size  and  population.  Some  are  as  small  as  our  smaller 
states,  while  Yakutsk  is  as  large  as  all  the  United  States 
east  of  the  Mississippi  River.  Over  each  is  placed  a 
governor,  who  is  assisted  by  a  vice-governor  and  small 
council.  But  all  the  vast  empire  is  administered  from. 
St.  Petersburg.  At  the  top  of  the  system  stands  the 


20 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Czar  —  the  Autocrat  who  is  superior  to  all  law,  for  he 
is  the  law.  No  act  of  any  of  the  legislative  bodies  has 
any  validity  until  it  meets  with  the  Imperial  approval. 
The  government  has  always  treated  the  people  as  chil¬ 
dren  and  incapable  of  looking  after  their  own  affairs. 
Especially  does  it  consider  them  incompetent  to  grasp 
the  great  aims  and  humanitarian  purposes  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  itself.  It  looks  upon  itself  as  an  entity  distinct 
and  apart  from  the  individuals  composing  it,  and  in  all 
matters  where  the  State  is  involved  the  rights  of  indi¬ 
viduals  are  ruthlessly  sacrificed.  All  officials,  little  and 
big,  naturally  take  and  follow  the  same  view,  that  the 
individual  is  to  be  considered  last.  This  has  made  the 
government  comparatively  lenient  with  extortioners  or 
embezzlers,  and  retained  all  its  severity  for  political 
offenders.  It  also  developed  the  spy  system,  whereby 
a  body  of  men  is  stationed  all  over  the  Empire  whose 
duty  it  is  to  report  anything  they  see  fit  direct  to  the 
Czar.  These  men  might  overlook  actual  crookedness  on 
the  part  of  an  official,  and  arrest  some  poor  fellow  who 
made  a  light  remark  or  jest  at  the  expense  of  the  Em¬ 
peror. 

Russia  is  a  land  of  contrasts  and  paradoxes.  “  Con¬ 
tradiction,”  says  Mr.  Leroy-Beaulieu,  “might.be  en¬ 
acted  into  a  law.  The  law  of  contrasts  rules  everything. 
Hence  the  variety  of  judgments  pronounced  on  Russia, 
and  generally  so  false  only  because  showing  up  one  side 
alone.  This  law  of  contrasts  turns  up  everywhere  —  in 
society,  owing  to  the  deep  chasm  that  divides  the  higher 
from  the  lower  classes;  in  politics  and  the  administra¬ 
tion,  because  of  slight  leanings  toward  liberalism  in  the 
laws,  and  the  stationary  inertness  of  habit;  it  shows 
even  in  the  individual  —  in  his  ideas,  his  feelings,  his 
manner.  Contrast  lies  in  both  substance  and  form,  in 


The  Land  and  the  People 


21 


the  man  as  in  the  nation;  you  discover  it  in  time  in  all 
things.” 

Russia  is  a  stern  reality  and  not  a  dream.  This  is 
the  first  impression,  as  well  as  the  last  most  distinct 
recollection  of  the  traveller  who  has  visited  this  vast 
empire.  Your  passport  is  the  first  thing  demanded,  and 
this  is  done  before  the  train  has  entered  upon  Russian 
soil.  Its  vastness  overwhelms  you.  You  wonder  how  it 
can  all  be  governed  from  the  city  on  the  Neva.  No  such 
centralization  of  authority  exists  anywhere  else  on  the 
globe.  Russia  has  walked  roughshod  over  all  obstacles. 
She  wanted  Turkestan  —  she  grabbed  it.  She  wanted 
Manchuria  —  she  took  it,  Finland  has  a  constitution  — 
she  is  trying  to  get  around  it.  She  got  rid  of  Mr.  Shu¬ 
ster,  the  recent  American  advisor  of  Persia,  because  he 
would  not  yield  to  Russian  demand.  The  only  setback 
to  Russian  ambition  has  been  the  war  with  Japan  and 
the  consequent  loss  of  Manchuria. 

Everywhere  that  Russia  reaches  she  erects  fine  public 
buildings,  railway  stations,  cathedrals,  theatres,  and  bar¬ 
racks.  There  is  a  blind  belief  in  fate,  a  lack  of  regard 
for  human  life,  a  faith  in  her  ultimate  destiny  which 
runs  through  all  things  Russian  that  astonishes.  What 
will  be  her  ultimate  fate?  Will  she  break  of  her  own 
weight?  Will  she  continue  to  grow  until  one-fifth  and 
one-fourth  of  the  earth  acknowledges  the  sovereignty  of 
the  double-headed  eagle  of  Russia?  Will  the  rights  of 
the  individual  eventually  be  respected?  These  and  sim¬ 
ilar  questions  force  themselves  upon  one  as  he  travels 
through  and  attempts  to  study  the  Russia  of  to-day. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  CAPITAL 


Peter  the  Great  —  Nevski  Prospect  —  Inflated  Jehus  —  City  of  Canals  — 
Gostinoi  Dvor  —  Alexandrovski  Runok  —  Narodin  Dom  —  The 
Neva  —  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul —  St.  Isaac’s  —  Kazan  —  Winter 
Palace  —  The  Etat  Major  —  Hermitage  —  Russki  Museum  —  Peter- 
hof  — ■  Tsarskoi-Selo  —  Islands  —  Kronstadt  —  Alexander  Nevski. 

St.  Petersburg  shares  with  Christiania,  capital  of 
Norway,  the  distinction  of  being  the  most  northerly 
capital  in  the  world.  It  is  farther  north  than  Stockholm, 
and  is  situated  on  the  sixtieth  parallel  of  northern  lati¬ 
tude.  It  is  nearer  the  north  pole  than  Sitka,  Alaska,  and 
is  in  the  same  latitude  as  the  southern  extremity  of  Green¬ 
land.  It  is  below  the  land  of  the  midnight  sun,  but  the 
longest  day  lasts  nearly  nineteen  hours.  On  that  day 
the  sun  rises  a  little  before  three  and  sets  at  half-past 
nine.  The  delightful  summer  days  in  a  measure  com¬ 
pensate  for  the  long  winters,  when  daylight  lasts  for 
less  than  six  hours.  For  weeks  the  evening  twilight 
scarcely  disappears  before  the  morning  twilight  chases 
the  gloom  of  night  away.  The  Aurora  Borealis  is  fre¬ 
quent  in  the  north  of  Russia,  and  these  beautiful  north¬ 
ern  lights  are  an  additional  attraction. 

Summer  came  during  my  stay,  as  it  usually  does, 
without  warning.  It  snowed  a  little  in  St.  Petersburg 
on  the  day  of  my  arrival ;  and  on  the  following  day  the 
sun  came  out  brightly,  and  it  was  warm.  A  week  of 
warm  weather  carpeted  the  lawns  and  parks  with  their 
covering  of  green,  and  the  trees  fast  put  on  their  sum- 

22 


The  Capital 


23 


mer  foliage.  All  nature  was  awake  and  smiling.  One 
could  read  out  of  doors  until  after  ten  .o’clock,  and  the 
sun  did  not  set  until  nine.  At  eleven,  the  rays  of  twi¬ 
light  were  still  distinctly  visible.  At  two  in  the  morning 
day  was  breaking.  It  was  scarcely  worth  while  going 
to  bed,  except  that  one  needed  the  rest.  After  seven  or 
eight  months  of  winter,  —  and  the  past  winter  was  un¬ 
usually  long,  —  the  people  seemed  to  appreciate  the 
change,  and  be  glad  for  the  opportunity  to  cast  aside 
their  winter  furs. 

St.  Petersburg  owes  its  location  to  the  ambition  of 
Peter  the  Great.  Imbued  with  the  idea  that  Russia  was 
being  distanced  by  the  northern  nations  of  Europe,  he 
decided  to  found  a  new  capital,  and  to  build  up  his  coun¬ 
try  until  it  should  be  second  to  none.  He  wanted  a 
window,  as  he  expressed  it,  through  which  he  could  look 
out  upon  Europe,  and  Moscow  was  too  far  away.  It 
must  be  accessible  to  the  Baltic  Sea,  for  that  meant  easy 
communication  with  Western  Europe.  The  low  banks  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Neva  offered  the  best  site,  in  the  con¬ 
dition  of  the  Russian  Empire  of  that  day.  At  that  time 
only  a  few  fishermen  dwelt  there,  and  they  pointed  out 
to  him  the  height  of  the  floods.  But  he  was  not  to  be 
stopped.  Peter  worked  with  his  own  hands  to  build 
his  own  modest  little  home  of  three  rooms.  This  log 
hut  is  still  preserved  under  a  large  building  that  has  been 
erected  over  it,  like  some  exhibit  in  a  glass  case.  In  it 
is  kept  some  of  Peter’s  furniture,  including  a  chair  made 
by  himself.  One  room  of  the  cottage  has  been  made 
into  a  shrine,  in  which  his  favourite  icon  is  preserved. 
It  is  very  popular  with  the  people,  and  on  the  occasion 
of  my  visit  was  crowded  with  people  to  attend  the  ves¬ 
per  service.  Nearly  every  one  present  lit  a  candle  to  place 
on  the  altar. 


24 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


St.  Petersburg  soon  passed  out  of  the  log-hut  stage, 
and  became  the  first  city  of  stone.  When  we  see  the 
substantial  city  of  to-day  we  forget  the  almost  super¬ 
human  task  that  confronted  its  founder.  There  were 
no  workmen  to  be  had  in  the  vicinity.  Finns,  Cossacks 
and  Tartars,  as  well  as  Russians,  were  summoned  from 
all  over  the  Empire,  to  do  the  work.  Those  who  came 
were  without  tools  to  labour  with.  Instruments  for  the 
work  were  improvised.  There  was  no  stone  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  for  building  material.  Every  vessel  coming  to 
the  Neva  was  compelled  to  bring  a  certain  quantity  of 
uncut  stone.  There  were  no  merchants  to  do  the  business 
of  the  community.  These  were  brought  in  by  Imperial 
command.  The  dukes  and  archdukes  were  ordered  to 
build  houses  of  stone  in  the  new  capital,  and  a  western¬ 
ized  city  soon  began  to  grow  out  of  the  marshes  of  the 
Neva.  Within  a  short  space  several  thousand  homes 
had  arisen.  But  malaria  and  other  swamp  maladies  had 
claimed  half  a  hundred  thousand  workmen  before  the 
city  was  completed. 

The  St.  Petersburg  of  to-day  shows  the  wisdom  of 
its  founder  in  its  planning.  Not  that  the  site  chosen  was 
ideal  —  far  from  that  —  but  his  absolute  departure  from 
the  old  model  at  Moscow  had  many  advantages.  St. 
Petersburg  was  laid  out  on  generous  lines,  with  broad 
streets  whose  directions  were  shaped  by  the  compass. 
Canals  were  cut  for  drainage,  or  natural  waterways 
straightened,  until  the  modern  city  has  some  likeness  to 
Venice.  Parks  were  planned,  and  choice  sites  set  aside 
for  the  necessary  public  buildings.  In  architecture  West¬ 
ern  models  were  chosen,  so  that  St.  Petersburg  is  a  Eu¬ 
ropean  city  in  appearance.  Only  the  domes  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  churches,  with  their  gilded  or  brightly-hued  sur¬ 
faces,  remain  as  reminders  of  the  East. 


The  Capital 


25 


The  pride  of  St.  Petersburg  is  the  Nevski  Prospect, 
one  of  the  really  magnificent  streets  of  the  world.  It 
will  compare  favourably  with  Unter  den  Linden,  in  Ber¬ 
lin,  the  Avenida  Central,  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  the 
other  great  streets  of  the  world.  There  is  a  bend  in 
the  Nevski  which  really  divides  it  into  two  sections, 
quite  dissimilar.  I  have  walked  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  a  distance  of  almost  three  miles,  and  it  is  a  sight 
well  worth  the  seeing.  The  buildings  on  that  section 
from  the  Admiralty  to  the  Nicholas  Station  are  from 
three  to  five  stories  in  height,  and  the  street  is  of  unusual 
width,  one  hundred  and  fourteen  feet.  One  of  the  un¬ 
usual  features  are  the  fire  towers  of  St.  Petersburg,  a 
couple  of  which  are  on  the  Nevski.  They  will  be  found 
in  every  city  of  Russia.  A  man  will  be  seen  at  all  times 
walking  around  the  upper  part  of  the  tower  on  the  look¬ 
out  for  fires.  If  one  is  discovered  the  location  is  indi¬ 
cated  with  black  balls  by  day  and  red  lanterns  by  night. 
The  number  of  balls  or  lanterns  designates  the  district 
in  which  the  fire  is  located.  When  the  signal  is  seen  by 
the  fireman  on  duty  in  that  district,  he  steps  outside  and 
rings  a  bell,  which  calls  his  company  together,  for  they 
might  be  scattered  over  several  blocks.  As  might  be 
surmised,  the  service  is  not  very  prompt  by  this  method. 

Many  palaces  used  to  line  this  street,  but  that  occupied 
by  the  Dowager  Empress,  widow  of  Alexander  III,  is 
about  the  only  one  left.  It  is  known  as  the  Anitchkov 
Palace,  and  was  built  by  the  Empress  Elizabeth  for  her 
lover,  whom  she  had  taken  from  the  peasant  ranks 
because  his  voice  fascinated  her  when  she  heard  it  in 
a  choir.  The  Imperial  Library  is  on  the  same  side  and 
near  this  palace.  It  is  one  of  the  richest  and  most  val¬ 
uable  libraries  in  Europe,  enriched,  as  it  has  been,  with 
the  spoils  of  Russian  wars  in  Europe  and  Asia.  The 


26 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


collection  of  Greek,  Latin,  Hebrew,  Persian,  Arabic,  and 
Slavonic  manuscripts  is  unsurpassed,  and  comprises 
many  of  earlier  date  than  can  be  found  elsewhere.  There 
is  a  large  public  reading-room  in  it,  where  books  and 
foreign  newspapers  can  be  consulted. 

Adjoining  the  Anitchkov  is  the  Alexandra  Square, 
the  most  conspicuous  adornment  of  which  is  the  bronze 
statue  of  Catherine  the  Great,  crowned,  sceptred  and 
in  Imperial  robes,  with  the  men  who  made  her  reign 
illustrious  grouped  at  her  feet.  Most  conspicuous  of  all 
is  the  bronze  face  of  Potemkin,  for  a  long  time  her 
favourite.  The  Alexandra  Theatre  forms  the  back¬ 
ground  of  this  square.  Great  business  houses  are  now 
found  along  the  entire  length,  and  some  of  the  buildings 
are  of  splendid  architecture,  much  finer  than  one  will 
usually  find  in  houses  devoted  to  commerce.  On  the 
busy  corners  kiosks  for  newspaper  venders  will  be  found. 
At  frequent  intervals  may  be  seen  the  letter  boxes  of 
the  Imperial  post.  No  one  can  mistake  their  purpose, 
for  a  letter  is  painted  on  it  with  a  great  red  seal  on  the 
flap. 

The  Nevski  Prospect  is  the  centre  of  the  life  of  the 
people,  and  a  stream  of  humanity  is  constantly  passing 
along.  In  winter  this  life  begins  late,  for  there  is  not 
much  inducement  to  early  rising  when  the  sun  itself  sets 
such  a  bad  example.  The  people  have  doubtless  been  up 
the  greater  part  of  the  preceding  night,  also.  But  by 
noon  everybody  is  awake,  even  in  midwinter.  Many 
nationalities  are  sure  to  be  represented  in  this  morning 
throng,  and  a  score  of  tongues  might  be  heard  in  a  walk 
along  this  avenue  by  one  whose  ears  were  sufficiently 
acute.  There  will  be  Cossacks  in  uniforms  and  with 
caps  a  foot  high ;  tall,  dark-eyed  Caucasians  with  the 
cartridge-pouches  across  the  breast  of  their  long  coats, 


The  Capital 


27 


and  dagger  hanging  in  its  sheath  from  the  tightly-drawn 
belt;  military  officers  of  every  sort,  with  swords  drag¬ 
ging  on  the  pavement,  and  with  so  many  medals  on  their 
coats  that  you  wonder  for  what  deeds  of  heroism  they 
have  been  bestowed;  schoolgirls  with  their  regulation 
aprons,  and  schoolboys  in  semi-military  coats  and  hats. 
On  Sunday  evening  in  summer  it  is  usually  illuminated, 
and  then  one  side  is  so  crowded  that  it  is  almost  impos¬ 
sible  to  force  one’s  way  along  any  faster  than  the  crowd 
is  moving. 

In  the  centre  is  the  tramway,  with  electric  cars,  which 
stop  only  at  regular  stations  where  platforms  are  erected, 
humming  along.  In  the  roadway  on  either  side,  fine 
droshkis  are  drawn  swiftly  along  by  splendid  horses, 
most  of  them  stallions,  and  driven  by  men  who  are  so 
padded  up  that  they  look  like  inflated  dummies.  The  man 
holds  the  lady  securely  around  the  waist,  for  most  of  the 
droshkis  are  utterly  devoid  of  back  or  side  rail.  The 
little  horse  may  pant  and  flakes  of  foam  fall  from  his 
sides,  but  the  driver  never  slacks  his  pace  until  his  des¬ 
tination  is  reached.  Occasionally  a  “  troika  ”  may  be 
seen  with  the  two  outer  horses  galloping  madly,  while 
the  middle  horse,  checked  high  under  the  arched  yoke, 
trots  as  fast  as  he  can.  The  driver  generally  wears  pea¬ 
cock  feathers  in  his  hat,  a  custom  followed  by  many  of 
the  hotel  porters.  Automobiles  dash  along  by  at  reckless 
speed.  There  are  oftentimes  four  or  five  rows  of 
droshkis,  sleighs  or  automobiles  racing  each  other,  each 
one  seeming  intent  on  passing  the  other.  On  and  on 
they  go,  leaving  the  poor  pedestrian  to  take  care  of  his 
own  bones.  The  person  crossing  the  Nevski  must  have 
both  eyes  and  ears  alert  to  avoid  injury.  In  the  winter 
time  the  snow,  the  fine  sleighs,  the  merry  jingle  of  bells, 
the  gold  and  silver  harness,  and  gaily  coloured  robes, 


28  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

make  a  much  more  characteristic  scene  for  a  northern 
capital. 

The  little  droshkis  of  St.  Petersburg  and  the  other 
Russian  cities  bring  a  smile  when  first  seen.  No  matter 
how  many  descriptions  you  may  have  read,  at  first  sight 
they  seem  ridiculous  and  better  suited  for  children  than 
grown-ups.  Some  are  so  narrow  that  two  goodly-sized 
people  cannot  sit  in  them  with  comfort.  A  few  have 
backs,  and  others  have  not.  And  the  istvostchick,  as  the 
driver  is  called,  raises  another  smile.  He  is  frequently 
so  padded  up  in  his  blue  overcoat  that  you  would  think 
he  weighed  at  least  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  In 
reality  he  may  be  a  very  ordinary-sized  man.  He  looks 
like  he  was  pneumatically  inflated,  as  every  corner  seems 
so  well  rounded.  Burton  Holmes  calls  him  the  “  genus 
istvostchickus  giganticus.”  These  coats  reach  clear  to 
the  ground  and  seem  almost  like  a  dress.  One  pays  in 
accordance  with  the  circumference  of  the  driver,  for  the 
more  padding  the  higher  the  price.  It  is  amusing  to  see 
a  well-dressed  man  or  woman  walk  by  a  row  of  inflated 
Jehus  and  begin  to  bargain.  The  first  istvostchick  may 
ask  a  rouble,  and  the  other  istvostchicks  will  begin  call¬ 
ing  out  their  terms.  Eighty  kopecks,  sixty  kopecks,  and 
so  on  it  goes,  until  finally  an  offer  of  about  twenty-five 
kopecks  will  be  accepted.  Acceptance  is  signified  by  a 
gesture  for  you  to  take  your  seat.  The  drivers  will  then 
sit  quietly  again,  some  of  them  nodding,  until  another 
prospective  customer  comes  along.  The  first-class 
droshkis,  with  their  fine  turnouts  equipped  with  rubber 
tires,  and  driver  in  blue  uniform,  ask  prices  in  accord¬ 
ance  with  their  equipment.  But  the  horses  are  all  swift 
and  enduring,  and  draw  the  traveller  along  very  rap¬ 
idly. 

Canals  thread  St.  Petersburg  in  every  direction.  The 


NEVSKI  PROSPECT,  ST.  PETERSBURG 


PONTANKA  CANAL,  ST.  PETERSBURG 


The  Capital 


29 


Nevski  crosses  several  of  these  waterways  throughout 
its  course.  Most  of  them  offer  in  their  perspective  a 
view  of  a  fine  church  in  one  direction  or  the  other.  The 
bridges  are  usually  very  artistic,  and  the  architecture  is 
extremely  varied.  The  Aniichkov  Bridge,  which  crosses 
the  Fontanka  River  or  Canal,  on  the  Nevski  Prospect, 
is  especially  attractive.  A  bronze  horse  tamer  and  plun¬ 
ging  horse  adorns  each  corner,  each  one  differing  from 
all  the  others.  The  Fontanka  was  originally  a  river,  but 
Peter  turned  its  natural  advantages  into  practical  use. 
It  was  the  largest  of  the  natural  rivers  in  this  marsh, 
excepting  only  the  Neva.  It  has  been  deepened  and 
widened,  and  faced  with  cut  granite  walls  so  that  it  is 
of  great  utility.  With  the  numerous  steamers  that  ply 
on  it  the  Fontanka  furnishes  cheap  communication  with 
distant  parts  of  the  city.  It  is  also  a  safeguard  against 
inundations.  An  old  wooden  bridge  once  stood  here, 
and  all  persons  who  entered  the  town  across  it  were 
obliged  to  inscribe  their  names  on  a  register. 

It  is  an  interesting  sight  to  stand  on  the  Anitchkov 
Bridge,  winter  or  summer,  and  watch  the  life.  In  win¬ 
ter  the  skaters  provide  an  animated  scene ;  in  summer 
it  is  the  boats  and  boatmen.  The  little  passenger  boats 
dart  like  sea  gulls  here  and  there  while  picking  their 
way  among  the  barges.  Men  trundle  little  barrows  all 
day  while  unloading  wood  from  the  barges.  At  meal 
time  these  men  may  be  seen  crossing  themselves  before 
beginning  their  frugal  meal  of  sour  black  bread,  a  salted 
cucumber,  and  possibly  a  little  meat  or  fish.  Many 
steamers  carry  passengers  to  various  parts  of  the  city, 
and  barges  filled  with  freight,  hundreds  being  loaded 
with  wood  alone,  will  be  seen  everywhere. 

One  institution  that  always  attracts  attention  is  the 
Gostinoi  Dvor,  —  meaning  Guest’s  Court,  —  which  is  a 


32 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


spirituous  liquors  are  sold,  but  kvass,  the  Russian  non¬ 
alcoholic  drink,  and  tea  take  their  place.  Colossal  por¬ 
traits  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  the  real  hosts  here, 
adorn  the  walls.  But  this  pleasure  palace  has  not  reached 
the  class  for  which  it  was  intended,  the  common  people, 
as  nearly  every  person  seen  within  it  is  well  dressed. 
Nevertheless,  it  has  given  students,  clerks,  teachers,  and 
small  tradesmen  a  place  to  seek  an  evening’s  amusement 
amid  good  surroundings,  and  at  small  cost. 

It  is  to  the  River  Neva  that  we  must  also  turn.  This 
is  really  a  broad  and  noble  stream  that  reaches  to  the 
heart  of  the  city.  It  makes  an  irregular  horseshoe  bend 
within  the  city.  Two  centuries  ago  the  Neva  was 
scarcely  known,  although  it  had  flowed  through  the 
trackless  forests  from  time  immemorial.  To-day  it  is 
used  by  man,  but  still  unconquered.  An  enormous  mass 
of  water  flows  to  the  sea  through  its  broad  channel. 
Large  steamers  come  up  and  discharge  their  cargoes  at 
the  wharves.  Landing-places  for  the  smaller  steamers 
will  be  found  at  every  few  blocks.  Several  great  bridges 
■cross  it,  the  finest  of  which  is  the  new  Alexander  Bridge. 
At  times  temporary  pontoon  bridges  are  swung  across 
to  take  care  of  the  traffic.  In  the  winter  time  broad  ice 
paths  are  cleared,  where  the  people  skate  across  or  are 
pushed  across  in  the  winter  ferries  —  little  sleds  pro¬ 
vided  with  a  chair  and  propelled  by  a  skater.  Plank 
walks  are  provided  for  pedestrians.  It  is  an  interesting 
place  to  watch  the  traffic  and  life  of  the  people  either 
winter  or  summer. 

Crossing  the  Neva  on  the  Troitski  Most  from  the 
Field  of  Mars,  where  the  military  reviews  are  held,  it 
is  a  magnificent  view  of  the  city  that  awaits  the  visitor. 
There  are  many  places  of  interest  along  the  Neva.  Pal¬ 
aces  upon  palaces,  private  and  public,  stretch  along  its 


The  Capital 


33 


banks.  Great  stone  and  iron  bridges  span  the  broad 
stream,  the  opposite  bank  of  which  is  almost  lost  in  the 
mist  on  a  wintry  day.  The  Academy  of  Arts  and  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  both  come  into  view.  The  Ex¬ 
change  is  on  the  far  side,  and  is  a  rather  curious  build¬ 
ing.  Near  it  rise  two  massive  columns  decorated  with 
the  prows  of  ships  and  dedicated  to  Mercury.  Near  it, 
on  Petersburg  Island,  where  Peter’s  generals  once  en¬ 
camped,  is  the  Fortress  of  Petropawlovski,  or  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul.  This  fort  is  rather  formidable  looking, 
but  it  is  not  of  much  use  to-day.  It  has  been  the  scene 
of  much  cruelty  and  suffering.  If  the  walls  of  the  dun¬ 
geons,  many  of  which  are  below  the  level  of  the  Neva, 
on  the  water  side,  might  speak,  they  could  tell  tales  that, 
would  startle  the  world  of  to-day.  At  the  present  time 
this  prison  is  used  only  as  a  place  of  temporary  imprison¬ 
ment  for  political  prisoners,  but  these  temporary  confine¬ 
ments  often  run  into  months  after  the  Russian  policy  of 
delay.  And  yet  as  one  walks  through  this  enclosure, 
there  is  no  suggestion  of  the  prisons.  State  prisoners 
are  now  generally  taken  to  Schlusselburg,  an  island  on 
the  Neva,  forty  miles  away.  This  prison  has  been  known 
as  the  place  of  living  burial.  .  Prisoners  confined  there 
are  seldom  allowed  to  see  their  relatives,  and  can  com¬ 
municate  with  them  only  twice  a  year. 

Within  the  Petropawlovski  Fortress  is  the  Peter-Paul 
Church,  in  which  all  the  emperors  from  Peter  the  Great, 
with  one  exception,  are  buried.  There  they  lie  in  rows 
of  square  white  marble  sarcophagi,  each  one  like  the 
rest,  with  nothing  but  the  name  to  distinguish  one  from 
another.  It  has  been  remarked  that  Russian  emperors 
are  the  only  ones  in  Europe  that  are  buried  within  the 
walls  of  a  fortress.  It  is  probably  a  habit  that  they 
cannot  get  away  from  even  in  death.  It  abounds  in 


34 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


military  trophies,  French  eagles,  Turkish  crescents,  Per¬ 
sian  suns,  curiously  worked  truncheons  of  Turkish  com¬ 
manders,  and  strange  keys  of  Oriental  fortresses.  Nu¬ 
merous  personal  relics  of  Peter  the  Great  are  to  be  seen. 
Several  of  the  utensils  used  in  the  church  service  are 
said  to  have  been  turned  by  him  on  his  lathe.  Each 
spring,  when  the  ice  breaks  up,  the  governor  of  the  for¬ 
tress  brings  a  glass  of  water  over  to  the  Winter  Palace, 
which  the  Czar  drinks.  The  Czar  used  to  fill  this  glass 
with  gold,  but  the  governors  kept  increasing  the  size  of 
the  glass,  so  it  is  said,  and  the  amount  of  the  gold  was 
thereupon  fixed. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  is  the  double  build¬ 
ing  in  which  sit  the  Senate  and  Holy  Synod,  two  impor¬ 
tant  bodies  which  have  an  important  part  in  the  gov¬ 
ernment.  Facing  it  is  the  Admiralty  Building,  painted 
in  a  light  yellow,  and  with  a  tall,  slender,  gilded  spire. 
It  is  an  immense  building,  half  a  mile  long,  covering  a 
great  deal  of  space.  The  building  of  the  Admiralty  was 
begun  by  Peter  himself,  but  it  was  later  remodelled  and 
the  tall  spire,  which  forms  the  perspective  at  one  end  of 
the  Nevski,  added  to  it.  This  spire  pierces  the  sky  and 
greets  its  neighbouring  spire  of  the  fortress-cathedral 
with  an  angel  balanced  on  the  topmost  point.  A  broad 
and  shady  boulevard  runs  along  one  side,  and  this,  with 
the  New  Alexander  Garden,  forms  one  of  the  finest 
squares  to  be  found  in  Europe.  It  is  the  fashionable 
promenade  for  the  early  evening  during  the  summer. 

Between  these  two  buildings,  in  a  large  open  square, 
at  one  side  of  which  is  the  new  St.  Isaac’s  Cathedral, 
is  a  striking  monument  to  Peter  the  Great.  It  is  an 
equestrian  statue  of  that  emperor,  and  is  noted  as  one 
of  the  few  equestrian  statues  in  which  the  horse  stands 
on  its  hind  feet  without  a  support  in  front  in  any  form. 


MONUMENT  TO  PETER  THE  GREAT,  ST.  PETERSBURG 


t 


CATHEDRAL  OP  ST.  ISAAC’S,  ST.  PETERSBURG 


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35 


Peter  has  his  hand  outstretched  toward  the  Neva  a  few 
yards  away.  His  attitude  is  one  of  defiance  and  self- 
conscious  power,  and  it  was  in  this  spirit  that  St.  Peters¬ 
burg  was  erected.  The  pedestal  is  a  huge  rock,  forty- 
two  feet  long  at  its  base,  thirty-six  feet  at  the  top,  eleven 
feet  broad  and  seventeen  feet  high.  This  huge  rock, 
which  is  said  to  weigh  fifteen  hundred  tons,  was  found 
half  buried  in  a  marshy  forest  some  distance  away. 
Peter  is  said  to  have  stood  on  this  rock  at  one  time. 
Catherine  the  Great,  to  whom  such  a  thing  as  a  marsh 
was  no  hindrance,  built  a  road  several  versts  long,  over 
which  this  rock  was  rolled  on  friction  balls  by  means  of 
pulleys  and  windlasses.  A  special  float  was  then  built 
by  which  it  was  conveyed  to  a  landing-place  near  its 
destined  location. 

Although  St.  Petersburg  does  not  contain  so  many 
churches  and  shrines  as  Moscow,  yet  even  here  they  seem 
to  be  without  number.  Peter  at  one  time  was  not  very 
devout,  but,  as  he  became  older,  he  feared  that  he  had 
committed  the  unpardonable  sin,  and  tried  to  make  up 
for  the  recklessness  of  his  younger  days  by  his  devotion 
to  the  Church.  Then  the  churches  began  to  spring  up 
on  all  sides.  After  his  death  Peter  was  canonized  and 
became  a  saint.  The  Cathedral  of  St.  Isaac’s  is  a  mag¬ 
nificent  structure,  and  cost  fourteen  million  dollars.  The 
dome  is  one  of  the  four  greatest  domes  in  the  world. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  it  does  not  stand  in  an  elevated 
position,  so  that  the  four  great  stairways  leading  to  the 
portal  on  either  side  would  show  better.  Each  step  is 
one  great  block  of  granite.  Each  column,  sixty  feet  high 
by  seven  feet  in  diameter,  is  one  monolith  —  being  among 
the  largest  monoliths  to  be  found  in  use  anywhere.  The 
altars  are  magnificent.  Columns  of  malachite,  thirty  feet 
high,  support  the  altar  screen.  There  are  pillars  of  lapis 


36 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

lazuli,  steps  of  polished  jasper,  railings  of  alabaster, 
mosaic  pictures  of  the  saints,  and  shrines  of  gold  in- 
crusted  with  jewels,  in  St.  Isaac’s.  In  fact,  the  sacristan 
simply  repeats  the  words  gold,  silver,  diamonds,  etc.,  in 
a  tone  that  should  arouse  awe.  The  wealth  and  gor¬ 
geousness  of  many  of  the  Russian  monuments  of  devo¬ 
tion  is  almost  preposterous.  There  is  a  great  want  of 
proportion  and  sobriety  about  the  ornamentation. 

The  Kazan  Cathedral,  on  the  Nevski,  is  built  after 
the  style  of  St.  Peter’s  in  Rome,  with  a  sweeping  colon¬ 
nade,  although  it  is  very  much  smaller.  The  Czar  and 
Czarina  always  come  here  to  “  salute  the  Virgin  ”  upon 
their  safe  return  from  a  journey.  Imperial  brides  are 
also  brought  here  before  they  are  taken  to  the  Winter 
Palace.  There  are  sure  to  be  a  number  of  begging 
monks  and  nuns,  or  common  mendicants,  at  the  entrance, 
through  which  one  must  run  the  gauntlet.  Our  Lady 
of  Kazan,  the  wonder-worker,  was  first  taken  to  Moscow 
from  Kazan,  and  afterwards  transported  to  St.  Peters¬ 
burg  almost  two  hundred  years  ago.  The  present  cathe¬ 
dral  was  built  just  a  century  ago.  The  Memorial  Church 
of  the  Resurrection  was  built  in  commemoration  of  the 
assassination  of  Alexander  II,  and  on  the  very  spot 
where  it  took  place,  on  the  13th  day  of  March,  1881. 
The  place  where  the  bomb  struck  is  kept  as  it  was  left, 
and  even  the  blood  stains  are  visible.  This  church  is 
almost  as  fantastic  as  that  of  St.  Basil’s  in  Moscow,  and 
resembles  it  very  much  in  general  outline. 

St.  Petersburg  is  a  city  of  palaces.  In  them  dwell  the 
dukes  and  archdukes,  ambassadors  and  millionaires.  The 
finest  of  all,  however,  is  the  Winter  Palace  of  the  Czar, 
an  immense  structure.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  buildings 
in  the  world.  Three  thousand  people  can  dance  in  the 
Winter  Palace  at  one  time,  and  two  thousand  can  be  fed 


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37 


at  a  single  sitting.  On  these  occasions  it  is  a  wonderful 
scene  of  the  lavish  display  of  gowns,  jewels  and  mili¬ 
tary  uniforms  blazing  with  stars  and  medals.  Here,  in 
the  midst  of  imperial  magnificence,  dwells  at  times  the 
man  who  occupies  the  throne.  The  flag  flies  on  the  flag¬ 
staff  whenever  the  Czar  is  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital. 
For  more  than  a  year  after  the  revolution  of  1905,  how¬ 
ever,  he  did  not  visit  this  city,  but  remained  a  voluntary 
prisoner  in  his  palace  at  Tsarskoi  Selo,  a  few  miles  from 
the  capital,  surrounded  by  his  Imperial  Cossack  Guard. 
These  were  the  same  men  who  fired  upon  an  assemblage 
that  had  gathered  in  front  of  the  Winter  Palace  during 
that  revolution,  and  killed  or  wounded  several  hundred 
men,  women  and  children.  The  order  to  fire  was  given 
by  the  Grand  Duke  Vladimir,  who  later  died  of  remorse 
and  fear  of  assassination  as  a  result  of  this  deed.  A 
sentinel  pacing  back  and  forth  on  the  roof,  as  well  as 
guards  on  all  sides,  evidence  the  precautions  that  are 
constantly  taken  to  preserve  the  life  of  the  sovereign. 

The  Winter  Palace  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1837, 
and  many  of  the  valuables  were  consumed.  It  was  re¬ 
built  and  furnished  on  an  even  more  elaborate  scale. 
Many  interesting  war  pictures  decorate  the  walls,  and 
in  the  treasury  the  usual  collection  of  royal  jewels  is 
shown.  Among  these  is  the  Orloff  diamond,  one  of  the 
largest  diamonds  in  Europe.  This  jewel  at  one  time 
formed  the  eye  of  an  idol  in  India.  It  was  stolen  through 
strategy  by  a  French  soldier,  and  the  Count  Orloff  pur¬ 
chased  it  and  presented  it  to  Catherine  II.  Another 
memento  is  the  crown  of  Catherine  II,  which  is  said  to 
have  cost  a  million  roubles,  and  she  is  likewise  the  only 
Russian  woman  who  ever  wore  a  crown  at  all.  The 
Imperial  crown  is  in  the  shape  of  a  dome,  the  top  of 
which  is  a  cross  of  large  diamonds  resting  on  an  immense 


38 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

ruby.  These  jewels  are  kept  in  a  room  which  is  closely 
guarded  day  and  night.  The  palace  is  painted  a  terra¬ 
cotta  colour,  as  are  all  the  buildings  surrounding  the 
great  open  space  in  front. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  striking  features  of 
the  Winter  Palace  are  the  private  apartments  of  Alex¬ 
ander  II.  A  half-smoked  cigarette,  which  he  threw 
down  as  he  left  the  apartment  on  his  way  to  review  a 
regiment  of  soldiers,  is  preserved  under  a  glass  case, 
and  the  blood-stained  bed  on  which  he  was  laid  one  hour 
later  with  both  legs  shattered,  is  still  shown.  The  most 
touching  of  all  are  the  little  frocks  of  a  daughter  who 
died  in  her  youth.  He  always  kept  these  in  this  room, 
and  they  would  frequently  be  spread  out  for  him  at  his 
request.  It  is  a  picture  of  the  human  side  of  this  re¬ 
markable  man. 

In  front  of  the  Winter  Palace  is  a  great  open  square. 
The  impression  given  by  it  is  immensity  —  the  immensity 
of  the  Empire.  This  feeling  is  increased  by  the  magni¬ 
tude  of  the  buildings  on  every  side.  To  the  right,  as 
you  stand  by  the  Palace,  is  the  Admiralty.  Facing  you 
is  a  massive  semi-circular  building  in  which  govern¬ 
mental  work  is  carried  on.  The  Foreign  and  Finance 
Department  and  the  Etat  Major  have  their  offices  in  this 
building.  In  spite  of  several  hundred  windows  little 
light  has  been  shed  on  the  dark  secrets  of  the  Etat  Major. 
The  Morskaya,  one  of  the  most  important  streets  in  St. 
Petersburg,  begins  at  the  arch  in  the  centre  of  this  great 
building.  In  the  centre  of  this  square  is  a  tall  column 
erected  to  Alexander  I.  It  is  a  single  column  of  red 
granite  eighty-four  feet  high,  exclusive  of  the  pedestal 
and  the  surmounting  angel  with  the  cross,  and  is  said 
to  be  the  largest  monolith  in  the  world.  An  inscription 
upon  it  says:  “  Grateful  Russia  to  Alexander  I.” 


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39 


Connected  with  the  Winter  Palace  by  a  covered  gal¬ 
lery  over  a  canal,  which  reminds  one  of  the  Bridge  of 
Sighs  in  Venice,  is  the  Hermitage,  which  was  used  as 
a  part  of  the  palace  by  Catherine  the  Great.  It  was  built 
by  her  for  a  recreation  place,  as  well  as  a  deposit  for 
art  treasures.  Every  one  meeting  in  the  Hermitage  was 
required  to  cast  aside  all  consideration  of  rank,  and  meet 
the  other  guests  on  an  absolutely  equal  footing.  The 
queen  herself  set  the  example.  Any  one  violating  the 
order  was  subject  to  a  fine,  which  was  given  to  the  poor. 

To-day  the  Hermitage  is  one  of  the  noted  art  galleries 
of  Europe.  The  entrance  is  striking,  between  great  At¬ 
lases,  a  story  high,  who  seem  to  bear  a  great  weight 
on  their  shoulders.  It  houses  many  canvases  of  the 
old  masters.  Some  of  the  best  work  of  Rembrandt,  Van 
Dyck,  Rubens,  Cuyp,  Titian,  Raphael,  and  others  will 
be  found  here.  In  fact,  there  are  few  masters  who  are 
not  represented  by  one  or  more  canvases.  Especially 
fine  are  the  Spanish  pictures  by  Murillo  and  Velasquez. 
There  are  more  than  twenty  Murillos,  many  of  which 
were  carried  away  from  Madrid  by  the  French,  wrapped 
around  their  flagstaff's.  Excepting  only  the  Prado  Gal¬ 
lery,  in  Madrid,  his  best  work  is  probably  found  in  the 
Hermitage.  The  “  Repose  During  the  Flight  to  Egypt,” 
and  “  Jacob’s  Ladder,”  are  two  of  the  most  interesting 
and  noted  canvases.  In  the  latter  the  groups  of  angels 
amuse  themselves  in  many  innocent  ways  while  ascend¬ 
ing  and  descending  the  ladder.  Of  Rembrandt  there  are 
two  score  authentic  works.  Rubens  is  still  more  numer¬ 
ously  represented,  and  one  is  again  astonished  at  his 
versatility  as  well  as  industry.  It  would  seem  that  the 
Louvre  and  Hermitage  alone  contain  a  life’s  work,  but 
nearly  every  art  gallery  in  Europe  contains  several  of 
his  canvases.  The  whole  collection  has  recently  been 


40 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


rearranged,  and  the  art  treasures  are  now  displayed  to 
much  better  advantage  than  formerly.  There  are  also 
many  curios  of  the  Slavs  and  Asiatic  races,  as  well  as 
of  other  countries.  Most  interesting  of  this  class,  per¬ 
haps,  are  the  world-famous  antiquities  from  Kertch,  in 
the  Crimea.  There  will  be  seen  the  gold  laurel  and 
acorn  crowns  that  once  adorned  the  foreheads  of  the 
Greeks  of  that  city,  the  gold-braided  border  with  which 
the  Greek  women  trimmed  their  garments.  The  gold 
bracelets  and  necklaces  are  not  much  unlike  some  of  the 
designs  that  may  be  seen  to-day. 

The  Alexander,  or  Russki,  Museum,  in  another  part 
of  the  city,  is  entirely  different  from  the  Hermitage.  It 
was  founded  by  the  late  Alexander  III.  Like  the  Tre- 
tiakov  Gallery,  in  Moscow,  it  is  devoted  almost  entirely 
to  Russian  masters.  The  whole  course  of  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  Russian  art,  from  the  archaic  Byzantine  paint¬ 
ing  of  the  icons,  up  to  the  extreme  of  modern  impres¬ 
sionism,  may  be  traced  here.  A  “  Coast  Scene  ”  and 
“  The  Wreck,”  by  Aiwasowski,  especially  impressed  me, 
and  these  are  his  favourite  subjects.  The  “  Last  Day 
of  Pompeii,”  “  Cossacks  Composing  a  Letter  of  Defi¬ 
ance  to  the  Sultan,”  and  several  other  canvases  by  Brul- 
low,  are  very  finely  executed.  The  tear-stained  face  of 
a  woman  in  one  was  so  natural  that  it  fairly  haunted  me. 
There  are  also  many  delightful  representations  of  typical 
Russian  landscapes.  There  are  a  number  of  examples 
of  the  artist  Verestchasin,  who  perished  on  one  of  the 
warships  at  Port  Arthur.  Not  a  single  aspect  of  Rus¬ 
sian  scenery,  from  the  dreary  steppes  of  Siberia  to  the 
snow-clad  peaks  of  the  frosty  Caucasus,  seem  to  have 
escaped  his  brush. 

There  are  many  royal  palaces  in  and  around  St. 
Petersburg.  Peter  the  Great  soon  tired  of  his  little  log 


The  Capital 


41 


hut,  and  imported  foreign  artists  who  erected  the  palace 
of  Peterhof,  which  is  now  called  the  summer  residence 
of  the  Czar.  It  is  about  an  hour’s  ride  from  St.  Peters¬ 
burg,  and  one  side  is  washed  by  the  waters  of  the  Gulf 
of  Finland.  There  are  some  fountains  at  Peterhof 
which  are  beautiful,  but  they  cannot  equal  those  at  Ver¬ 
sailles.  One  striking  feature  is  a  room  filled  with  several 
hundred  portraits  of  young  women  in  various  attitudes 
and  occupations. 

About  fifteen  miles  from  St.  Petersburg  is  Tzarskoi 
Selo,  the  Imperial  Village,  and  here  is  one  of  the  finest 
royal  palaces  in  Europe.  It  is  situated  among  what  are 
called  the  Duderov  Hills.  As  one  approaches  this  town 
it  rises  like  a  green  oasis  from  the  plain,  with  its  many 
trees  and  gardens.  The  town  is  now  popular  as  a  sum¬ 
mer  resort  for  the  wealthier  inhabitants  of  St.  Peters¬ 
burg,  as  the  air  is  cooler  and  drier  than  in  the  capital. 
The  palace  was  begun  by  Peter,  but  was  enlarged  and 
beautified  by  his  successors,  and  first  became  famous 
under  Catherine  II.  I  visited  this  palace  one  day,  going 
out  by  the  first  bit  of  railroad  constructed  in  Russia. 
To-day  it  is  used  for  only  certain  state  receptions.  The 
gardens  are  among  the  finest  in  Europe,  and  hundreds 
of  gardeners  are  employed  in  keeping  them  in  order. 
One  cannot  drive  through  them  in  an  ordinary  droshki, 
but  must  have  two  horses  and  a  driver  in  uniform.  Such 
is  the  unalterable  rule  that  is  rigidly  enforced.  Its  up¬ 
keep  must  be  a  big  item  in  itself,  while  the  wealth  rep¬ 
resented  is  almost  incalculable.  One  room  is  finished 
wholly  with  amber,  which  was  presented  by  Frederick 
the  Great,  of  Prussia.  There  are  chairs  and  tables  of 
amber,  as  well  as  a  chess-board  with  amber  chessmen. 
Each  of  the  many  large  rooms  is  finished  in  its  own 
distinct  style.  In  one  there  is  the  clearest  echo  I  have 


42 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ever  heard.  A  clap  of  the  hands  in  the  centre  of  the 
room  will  be  answered  by  innumerable  claps,  each  one 
growing  fainter  and  fainter,  until  the  sound  seems  lost 
in  distance. 

Catherine  the  Great  was  very  fond  of  Chinese  dec¬ 
orations,  and  several  rooms  are  finished  after  Chinese 
styles.  A  wealth  of  paintings  also  adorns  the  walls  and 
ceilings,  and  many  of  these  are  masterpieces  of  art.  The 
private  apartments  are  plain  and  unpretentious  when 
compared  with  the  state  apartments.  The  contrast  be¬ 
tween  the  magnificence  of  the  one  and  the  simplicity  of 
the  others  is  most  impressive.  The  bedrooms  and  their 
furnishings  are  less  pretentious  than  those  of  many  rich 
Americans.  The  palace  where  the  Czar  and  his  family 
spend  most  of  the  year  is  a  newer  one,  and  is  but  a  short 
distance  from  the  old. 

The  city  of  St.  Petersburg  is  divided  into  many  islands 
by  the  canals.  In  the  delta  of  the  Neva  there  are  many 
more.  Most  of  them  are  connected  with  each  other  by 
bridges.  Many  of  the  islands  serve  as  country  homes 
for  wealthy  citizens,  and  some  of  the  country  houses, 
called  datchas,  which  nestle  in  these  sylvan  retreats,  are 
very  charming  in  their  isolation.  They  have  been  laid 
out  and  planted  with  an  art  that  has  worked  hand  in  hand 
with  nature.  The  datcha  generally  has  a  spacious  ve¬ 
randa,  hung  in  summer  with  greenhouse  flowers,  which 
is  used  as  a  dining  place  by  the  family  in  the  hottest 
weather.  One  or  two  of  the  islands  are  made  into  parks, 
where  the  people  can  come  out  on  summer  evenings  and 
saunter  through  the  green  paths.  The  cities  of  Europe 
afford  no  more  beautiful  drives  than  these  island  parks 
of  St.  Petersburg,  which  are  so  near  the  heart  of  the 
capital. 

Kronstadt,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Neva,  is  the 


The  Capital 


43 


port  as  well  as  fortress  guarding  the  entrance.  Here 
is  the  chief  custom-house  for  incoming  steamers.  It  is 
a  delightful  ride  of  an  hour  and  a  half  down  the  river 
to  Kronstadt,  as  it  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  loca¬ 
tion  of  the  city.  The  river  broadens  out  into  the  Gulf, 
and  then  Kronstadt,  the  northern  Gibraltar,  comes 
plainly  into  view.  It  is  situated  on  what  is  known  as 
Kettle  Island.  There  are  several  forts  on  the  island, 
which  is  of  goodly  size,  and  a  large  naval  arsenal.  Bat¬ 
tle-ships,  cruisers,  torpedo  boats  and  torpedo-boat  des¬ 
troyers  are  constantly  cruising  about  and  lending  an  air 
of  activity  to  the  place.  If  it  is  possible,  the  visitor  to 
St.  Petersburg  should  come  by  water.  The  first  im¬ 
pression  of  the  city  will  thus  be  much  better  than  after 
a  dreary  railroad  journey  from  the  German  frontier. 

There  is  one  other  place  of  interest  at  St.  Petersburg 
that  should  be  mentioned.  That  is  the  Alexander  Nevski 
Lavra,  or  Monastery.  This  is  one  of  the  three  ruling 
lavras  of  Russia,  whose  head  is  one  of  the  Metropolitans 
of  the  Church.  It  was  begun  more  than  two  centuries 
ago  by  Peter  the  Great  in  honour  of  Alexander,  son  of 
the  Grand  Prince  Yaroslav,  who  died  several  centuries 
before  that.  The  very  sight  of  this  man  is  said  to  have 
inspired  his  followers  with  love  and  veneration.  His 
strong,  sonorous  voice  sounded  like  a  trumpet.  Alex¬ 
ander  defeated  the  Swedes  on  the  shores  of  the  Neva, 
and  from  that  day  was  known  as  Alexander  Nevski. 
And  hence  this  Lavra.  His  remains  rest  in  a  silver- 
covered  sarcophagus  under  a  canopy  in  the  monastery 
cathedral  within  the  ground,  which  has  a  coverlet  of 
diamonds.  Peter  the  Great  himself  steered  the  barge 
which  brought  the  saint’s  remains  from  their  former 
resting-place  in  the  Province  of  Vladimir.  Several  hun¬ 
dred  monks  now  live  there.  They  are  striking  looking 


44 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  handsome  men,  with  their  long  flowing  hair,  which 
has  frequently  been  curled  to  make  it  fluffy,  and  bearded 
faces.  They  wear  a  high  hat  without  brim,  and  a  long 
black  veil  which  falls  over  their  shoulders.  They  all 
look  well  fed.  In  the  afternoon  many  go  out  to  hear 
them  sing,  and  it  is  well  worth  the  effort.  The  finest 
bass  voices  to  be  found  anywhere  will  be  heard  among 
these  monks.  It  is  seldom  that  fewer  than  fifty  take  part, 
and  on  many  occasions  there  will  be  one  hundred  or 
more.  In  the  cemetery  are  buried  some  of  Russia’s  most 
famous  dead.  Suvarov,  Tchaikovsky,  Dostoievsky,  and 
Rubinstein  rest  here.  Many  have  given  large  sums  to 
this  monastery  to  have  their  remains  interred  within  the 
walls  of  one  of  the  churches. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  MUSCOVITE  CAPITAL 

A  Distinct  Atmosphere  —  Rise  of  Muscovy  —  The  Kremlin  —  Iberian 
Chapel  —  Red  Square  —  An  Architectural  Freak  —  Napoleon’s  Van¬ 
dalism  —  The  Holy  Gateway  —  Cathedrals  —  Bell  Tower  —  Easter 
Ceremony  —  Palaces  —  “  The  Baby  ”  —  Kremlin  Bell  —  Cathedral 
of  the  Saviour  —  An  Orthodox  Service  —  Alexander  III  Memorial 
—  Theatre  Square  —  Petrovka  —  Moscow  Life  —  Police  —  Tretia- 
koff  Gallery  and  Russian  Art  —  Foundling  Hospital  —  Sparrow  Hill. 

It  is  only  a  night’s  ride  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Mos¬ 
cow,  as  we  measure  time.  In  reality,  however,  the  dis¬ 
tance  is  as  far  as  the  East  is  from  the  West.  St.  Peters¬ 
burg  is  Occidental;  Moscow  is  Oriental.  Moscow  rep¬ 
resents  the  Slav  ideals;  St.  Petersburg  reveals  the  as¬ 
pirations  toward  Western  culture  and  civilization.  St. 
Petersburg  impresses  the  visitor;  Moscow  fascinates 
him.  One  sees  a  hundred  things  in  the  old  Muscovite 
capital  not  found  elsewhere.  Real  Russia  grew  up 
around  Moscow,  and  the  city  of  to-day  shows  us  every 
phase  of  Russian  life  and  history.  It  is  one  of  the  few 
world  cities  which  have  a  distinct  spirit  and  character 
of  their  own,  and  are  still  living  forces  in  the  world. 

Moscow  is  farther  east  than  Jerusalem.  Like  Con¬ 
stantinople  it  is  situated  where  the  East  and  West  meet. 
Beyond  lie  half-civilized  lands  that  reach  to  Turkestan 
and  China.  It  is  a  holy  city,  and  Russian  peasants  are 
said  to  fall  on  their  knees  and  weep  as  they  approach 
it  and  see  the  glittering  crosses  on  the  churches.  Often¬ 
times  underneath  this  Christian  emblem  is  the  crescent 

45 


46 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


to  show  the  triumph  of  Christianity,  just  as  the  Moslems 
left  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  St.  Sophia  to  show  the  vic¬ 
tory  of  Mohammedanism. 

The  railroad  uniting  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  is 
built  as  the  eagle  would  fly.  Instead  of  twisting  here 
and  there  to  connect  with  cities  along  the  way,  the  build¬ 
ers  were  given  the  short  and  terse  Imperial  command  to 
unite  these  two  cities  by  the  most  direct  route.  As  the 
intervening  country  offered  few  obstacles  to  the  engi¬ 
neers,  the  road  was  built  in  an  almost  straight  line.  It 
is  a  dreary  ride  over  a  level  country,  which  offers  little 
variety  in  the  way  of  scenery.  Cultivated  level  fields 
alternate  with  the  wooded  tracts,  and  the  train  runs  hour 
after  hour  without  passing  a  place  of  any  size.  In  fact, 
there  is  only  one  town  of  any  importance  along  the  line, 
and  that  is  the  ancient  city  of  Tver,  although  a  few 
little  hamlets  have  grown  up  at  other  points  where  the 
train  sometimes  stops.  But  the  traffic  between  the  two 
cities  is  heavy,  and  it  is  oftentimes  necessary  to  book 
your  passage  several  days  beforehand,  in  order  to  en¬ 
sure  a  seat  in  the  train.  A  large  percentage  of  the  pas¬ 
sengers  are  military  officers  or  bureaucratic  officials,  as 
they  are  continually  travelling  between  the  two  most 
important  cities  of  Russia  and  points  farther  south  or 
east  from  Moscow.  The  latter  city  is  the  centre  of  the 
railroad  system  of  Russia,  and  is  also  the  starting  point 
for  travellers  bound  for  the  Far  East  over  the  Trans- 
Siberian  Railway.  Geographically,  it  is  the  centre  of 
European  Russia. 

“  Around  Moscow,  under  the  Mongol  yoke,”  says  Mr. 
Rambaud  in  his  History  of  Russia,  “  a  race  was  formed, 
patient  and  resigned,  yet  energetic  and  enterprising,  born 
to  endure  bad  fortune  and  profit  by  good,  which  in  the 
long  run  was  to  get  the  upper  hand  over  Western  Russia 


The  Muscovite  Capital 


47 


and  Lithuania.  There  a  dynasty  of  princes  grew,  politic 
and  persevering,  prudent  and  pitiless,  of  gloomy  and 
terrible  mien,  whose  foreheads  were  marked  by  the  seal 
of  fatality.  They  were  the  founders  of  the  Russian 
Empire,  as  the  Capetians  were  of  the  French  monarchy. 

“  The  princes  of  Moscow  gained  their  ends  by  in¬ 
trigue,  corruption,  the  purchase  of  consciences,  servility 
to  the  khans,  perfidy  to  their  equals,  murder  and  treach¬ 
ery.  They  were  at  once  the  tax-gatherers  and  police  of 
the  khans.  But  they  created  the  germ  of  the  Russian 
monarchy,  and  made  it  grow.  Henceforward  we  have 
a  fixed  centre,  around  which  gathers  that  scattered  his¬ 
tory  of  Russia  which  we  have  had  to  follow  in  so  many 
different  places  —  in  Novgorod  and  Pskov,  in  Livonia 
and  in  Lithuania,  at  Smolensk  and  in  Gallicia,  at  Tchern- 
igov  and  at  Kiev,  at  Vladimir  and  at  Riazan.” 

The  name  of  Moscow  first  appears  in  history  in  the 
year  1147.  The  chronicles  state  that  in  that  year  the 
Grand  Prince  George  Dolgorouki,  attracted  by  the  posi¬ 
tion  of  a  valley  situated  on  a  height  washed  by  the  river 
Moskva,  the  hill  now  crowned  by  the  Kremlin,  built  the 
city  of  Moscow.  Thick  forests  then  clothed  both  banks 
of  this  river.  For  a  century  or  more  it  remained  an 
unimportant  place,  and  the  chronicles  do  not  allude  to  it 
again,  except  to  mention  that  it  was  burned  by  the  Tar¬ 
tars  in  1237.  It  soon  fell  to  a  brother  of  Alexander 
Nevski.  To  him  was  due  its  first  importance,  and  he  now 
lies  buried  in  the  Church  of  St.  Michael  the  Archangel. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  town  began 
to  grow  and  embellish  itself.  Most  of  it  was  still  built 
of  wood,  and  the  fires  of  Moscow  have  become  almost 
a  proverb.  In  1520  there  were  forty-five  thousand 
houses,  so  it  is  recorded,  mostly  of  wood,  but  in  1547, 
a  desolating  fire  occurred,  in  which  many  thousands  lost 


48 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


their  lives,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  city  was  destroyed. 
In  1648,  1712,  and  1737,  there  were  appalling  conflagra¬ 
tions.  The  latest  great  fire  happened  after  Napoleon 
came,  for  since  that  time  brick  and  stone  have  been 
almost  universally  used  in  the  construction  of  the  new 
city.  This  last  conflagration  was  really  a  blessing  in 
disguise.  The  flames  could  only  lick  the  historic  towers 
of  the  Kremlin,  but  laid  waste  that  part  of  the  city  which 
most  needed  rebuilding.  Moscow  has  arisen  from  her 
ashes  a  more  imposing  city  than  she  had  ever  been  before. 

Moscow  still  dominates  the  vast  steppes  on  which  she 
was  erected  hundreds  of  years  ago.  Almost  an  hour 
before  the  city  is  reached,  its  gilded  domes  may  be  seen 
glistening  like  burnished  gold  in  the  morning  sunlight. 
It  is  a  wonderful  city  —  reminiscent,  as  it  is,  of  the  early 
Russians,  who  founded  it,  of  Napoleon,  who  captured 
it  after  the  Russians  had  burned  all  that  was  inflammable, 
and  of  the  real  Russian  people  of  to-day,  who  have  built 
the  expanded  city. 

It  was  a  revelation  and  a  delight  to  reach  this  second 
city  of  the  vast  Russian  Empire.  Moscow  is  second  only 
in  the  number  of  its  inhabitants,  but  in  interest  for  the 
traveller  and  student,  it  stands  superior  to  any  other  Rus¬ 
sian  city,  and  has  few  rivals  among  the  cities  of  the 
world.  It  is  still  a  capital,  but  without  the  machinery 
of  the  government.  A  part  of  the  city’s  original  impor¬ 
tance  yet  remains,  for  the  crown  jewels  are  preserved 
here,  and  the  coronation  ceremonies  take  place  in  the 
Kremlin,  the  residence  of  the  czars  before  Peter  the 
Great  laid  out  the  new  city  of  St.  Petersburg  on  the  banks 
of  the  Neva.  It  is  a  vast  city,  probably  about  the  size 
of  Philadelphia,  although  the  officials  try  to  lay  claim 
to  almost  two  millions  of  people.  Its  greatest  growth 
has  been  since  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs,  for  all  who 


The  Muscovite  Capital 


49 


had  a  taste  for  commerce  flocked  toward  Moscow,  and 
the  population  began  to  increase  with  amazing  rapidity. 
All  around  the  city  are  suburbs  where  great  spinning, 
weaving  and  printing  mills  are  located.  Some  of  these 
are  magnificent  modern  mills  employing  from  ten  to  fif¬ 
teen  thousand  hands.  In  addition  there  are  many  mis¬ 
cellaneous  factories,  for  in  business,  as  well  as  history, 
Moscow  is  destined  to  be  the  real  heart  of  Russia. 

There  are  really  two  distinct  Moscows  —  the  one  of 
history,  represented  by  the  Kremlin,  and  the  Moscow  of 
wealth  and  commerce.  To  understand  Moscow  thor¬ 
oughly  one  must  imagine  it  as  a  wheel  having  a  number 
of  circles,  with  the  Kremlin  as  the  hub.  The  main  streets 
leading  outward,  such  as  the  Petrovka,  Tverskaya,  and 
Varvarka,  are  the  spokes.  The  walls  of  the  old  town 
form  the  first  circles,  the  boulevards  the  second  circle, 
and  the  chain  of  monasteries,  which  are  united  by  other 
boulevards,  the  outer  circle.  These  monasteries,  all  of 
which  were  surrounded  by  battlemented  walls  and  tow¬ 
ers,  were  the  first  line  of  defence.  If  the  visitor  to  Mos¬ 
cow  bears  these  facts  in  mind,  the  city  is  not  hard  to 
understand.  The  present  city  is  wealthy  and  cosmo¬ 
politan  in  a  way,  for  the  picturesque  life  and  dress  that 
may  still  be  found  in  parts  of  Russia  has  in  a  great  meas¬ 
ure  disappeared.  Moscow  is  the  wealthiest  city  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  as  it  is  the  home  of  rich  merchants.  There  are  no 
skyscrapers  in  this  city;  and  the  old  style  of  architecture 
is  generally  followed.  The  only  difference  is  that  the 
streets  in  the  newer  sections  are  generally  laid  out  a 
little  more  regularly,  and  on  a  slightly  more  generous 
scale  than  did  the  original  builders.  In  the  older  section 
one  is  at  first  bewildered  by  the  maze  of  crooked  streets, 
blind  alleys  and  passages  apparently  not  designed  on  any 
definite  plan. 


50 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

It  is  the  Kremlin  to  which  the  visitor  to  Moscow  first 
bends  his  steps,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to  find.  “  Here,” 
says  a  writer,  “  a  good-natured  folk  has  created  a  jewel- 
box,  gay  and  dazzlingly  ornamental,  careless  of  what 
the  culture  of  the  West  has  declared  beautiful  and  holy.” 
This  world-famed,  walled  city  lies  in  the  very  centre  of 
the  commercial  city,  which  has  grown  up  around  it.  Its 
walls  and  towers  greet  you  at  every  turn,  as  it  seems, 
and  the  principal  hotels  all  lie  just  outside  its  protecting 
enclosure.  Viewed  on  a  bright  day  from  a  bridge  across 
the  Moskva  River,  which  creeps  along  beneath,  the  red 
walls  broken  here  and  there  by  loftier  towers  covered 
with  rich  green  tiles,  the  white  cathedrals  with  their 
gilded  domes,  the  mass  of  pink  palaces,  and  the  sloping 
hill  clothed  in  its  carpet  of  green  rising  up  from  the 
broad  waters  of  the  Moskva,  form  a  wonderful  picture. 

Thus  I  viewed  it  one  bright  Sunday  morning  when 
the  domes  seemed  aflame  with  the  reflected  sunlight,  and 
the  red,  green  and  pink  had  a  striking  freshness,  as  the 
colours  had  all  been  retouched,  added  to  which  was  the 
still  more  vivid  green  of  the  hillside  and  trees.  The  bells 
of  the  many  churches  were  ringing  their  sharp,  urgent 
commands  to  the  worshippers,  and  the  spell  of  the  holy 
city  was  upon  me.  I  then  realized  all  the  beauty  and 
impressiveness  of  which  the  Kremlin  is  capable.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  the  sight  arouses  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  Russians.  It  is  a  walled  city  within  a  greater  me¬ 
tropolis,  for  the  Kremlin  proper  only  occupies  one  end 
of  the  walled  enclosure,  which  still  stands.  The  other 
part  is  known  as  the  Chinese,  or  inner  town.  These 
walls  do  not  look  formidable  to-day,  for  a  few  well 
directed  shots  from  modern  guns  would  soon  demolish 
them.  The  first  walls  were  even  made  of  oak.  But  in 
their  day  they  repelled  many  attacks  from  enemies. 


IBERIAN  CHAPEL,  MOSCOW 


The  Muscovite  Capital 


51 


The  most  interesting  approach  to  the  walled  city  is 
through  the  beautiful  Resurrection  Gate.  As  one  nears 
it  many  people  will  be  seen  entering  the  little  sil¬ 
vered  chapel  between  the  double-arched  gateway.  It 
is  crowded  with  worshippers  from  morning  until  night. 
Among  these  will  be  seen  generals  and  counsellors 
of  state  in  full  uniform,  noblewomen  of  the  highest 
rank,  and  masses  of  the  humbler  folk  —  all  doing  hom¬ 
age  to  the  sacred  icon  contained  within.  Many,  who 
are  in  a  hurry,  have  to  be  content  with  kneeling  and 
crossing  themselves  in  the  street,  for  the  chapel  is  very 
small.  This  is  known  as  the  Iberian  Chapel,  and  con¬ 
tains  the  most  famous  icon  in  all  Russia.  It  is  a  picture 
of  the  Virgin,  which  was  copied  by  fasting  monks  from 
a  sacred  portrait  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  is  adorned  with 
many  precious  stones.  It  was  sent  to  the  Czar  as  a  pres¬ 
ent  from  some  Orthodox  Christians,  in  1648,  and  has 
proved  to  be  a  great  miracle  worker.  The  original  is 
seldom  shown,  for  it  is  taken  around  to  the  homes  of 
the  sick  in  a  state  carriage  drawn  by  six  black  horses, 
four  abreast  and  two  in  front,  with  a  liveried  driver 
and  postillion.  Inside  sit  two  priests  in  full  vestments. 
Priests,  drivers,  footmen  and  postillions  are  always  bare¬ 
headed,  no  matter  what  the  weather  may  be.  Many 
prostrate  themselves  as  the  holy  image  passes  by.  This 
religious  adoration  is  a  revelation  of  the  old  mediaeval 
devotion.  It  is  certainly  a  large  source  of  income  to 
the  church,  both  from  fees  and  the  voluntary  offerings 
of  those  who  visit  the  shrine.  The  charge  for  a  visit  of 
the  icon  is  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  dollars.  A 
substitute  is  then  kept  on  exhibition,  but  few  know  the 
difference. 

This  gateway  leads  to  the  great  plaza  known  as  the 
Red  Square.  It  used  to  be  called  the  “  bloody  square,” 


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The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


because  of  the  many  executions  that  took  place  on  the 
execution  block  which  still  stands  there.  The  victims 
were  hanged,  beaten  to  death,  broken  on  a  wheel,  and 
put  to  death  in  other  cruel  ways.  Counterfeiters  were 
stretched  on  the  ground  and  had  molten  metal  poured 
down  their  throats.  Dante  could  not  conjure  up  more 
horrible  scenes  in  the  Inferno  than  were  enacted  on  this 
“  bloody  square.”  There  is  a  slotted  hole  in  the  Kremlin 
wall  where,  it  is  said,  Ivan  the  Terrible  used  to  watch  the 
killing  of  the  victims  for  which  he  had  given  orders. 

Like  St.  Mark’s  plaza  in  Venice,  the  Red  Square  is  the 

home  of  hundreds  of  pigeons,  and  they  are  regarded  as 
even  more  sacred  than  in  the  Italian  city.  It  is  consid¬ 
ered  a  pious  privilege  to  feed  these  birds,  and  no  one 

is  permitted  to  injure  them  in  any  way. 

Directly  opposite  the  Resurrection  Gate,  and  at  the 
other  end  of  the  Red  Square,  is  the  Church  of  St.  Basil 
the  Blessed,  one  of  the  most  curious  churches  in  the 
world.  It  is  a  real  architectural  freak  —  a  medley  of 
architectural  eccentricities.  St.  Basil,  for  whom  it  is 
named,  was  a  half-crazy  mendicant  monk,  who  wandered 
around  over  Russia  more  than  three  centuries  ago.  In 
the  crypt  are  shown  the  heavy  chains  and  cross  worn  by 
him  for  penance.  Because  of  the  curious  domes  of  St. 
Basil’s,  each  of  which  differs  from  all  the  others,  many 
people  call  it  the  pineapple  church.  It  might  equally  as 
well  be  called  the  onion  or  melon  church,  for  there  are 
domes  that  resemble  these  fruits.  No  one  would  know 
it  was  a  Christian  church,  except  for  the  gilded  crosses. 
Its  colouring  is  equally  curious  and  original.  Red,  yel¬ 
low,  orange,  gold,  violet,  and  silver  all  are  blended. 
The  highest  dome  is  gilt,  one  dome  is  alternate  gold  and 
green,  another  maroon  and  green.  One  dome  is  striped 
alternately  with  yellow  and  green,  and  another  is  pink 


THE  RED  SQUARE  AND  THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  BASIL  THE  BLESSED 


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53 


and  green.  The  spire  under  the  central  dome  is  coloured 
with  alternate  stripes  of  gilt,  red  and  green. 

This  curious  and  remarkable  church  was  built  by  Ivan 
the  Terrible,  in  1554,  and  was  the  work  of  two  Russian 
architects.  It  is  a  purely  national  Russian  architecture, 
so  the  Russians  claim.  The  interior  is  made  up  of  eleven 
small  chapels,  in  each  of  which  there  are  one  or  more 
altars.  Narrow  passageways  connect  the  various  chap¬ 
els,  in  which  a  number  of  holy  relick  are  preserved.  From 
the  ceiling  great  eyes  seem  to  look  down  upon  you.  St. 
Basil’s  has  been  ransacked  twice,  once  by  the  Poles  and 
once  by  the  French.  Napoleon  ordered  his  soldiers  to 
tear  it  down,  but  they  only  quartered  their  horses  in  the 
chapels  to  show  their  contempt.  In  1839,  it  was  re¬ 
stored  and  given  its  present  appearance.  The  church 
seems  in  harmony  with  the  people  and  city. 

Along  the  one  side  of  the  Red  Square  is  the  finest 
arcade  to  be  found  in  Europe,  the  only  reminder  of  the 
present  commercial  age.  This  is  known  as  the  Riada. 
There  are  three  aisles  of  equal  length,  breadth  and 
height,  and  six  transverse  passages.  Holy  icons  are 
placed  above  each  entrance,  for  this  great  collection  of 
shops  has  received  the  blessings  of  the  Church.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  square,  directly  opposite  the  Riada, 
run  the  walls  of  the  Kremlin,  very  curious  and  mediaeval 
in  outline.  There  are  two  entrances  into  this  square. 

It  is  strange  indeed  that  this  most  sacred  bit  of  Russia, 
the  most  Russian  spot  in  the  whole  Empire,  is  indebted 
to  Italian  architects  for  its  greatest  beauty  and  charm. 
The  beautiful  Kremlin  wall,  with  its  fine  gateways,  was 
the  work  of  an  artist  of  Milan,  Petro  Antonio,  and  was 
built  in  1491.  They  do  not  show  their  age  to-day,  for 
the  Russians  have  repainted  them  many  times.  All  of 
the  gateways  leading  into  the  Kremlin  are  interesting, 


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The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  all  have  holy  icons  over  them,  before  which  the 
people  cross  themselves.  But  the  most  holy  and  sacred 
of  all  is  the  “  Gateway  of  the  Redeemer,”  the  most  hal¬ 
lowed  spot  in  Moscow.  Over  this  gate  is  an  icon  rep¬ 
resenting  the  Saviour,  before  which  a  lamp  is  ever  kept 
burning.  This  is  said  to  have  been  placed  there  by  the 
Czar  Alexis  Michaelovitch,  in  1626.  No  man  is  allowed 
to  pass  through  this  gate  except  with  uncovered  head. 
Even  the  Czar  conforms  to  this  usage.  It  is  claimed 
that  this  gateway  saved  Moscow  from  many  a  Tartar 
attack.  A  gilt  cross  surmounts  the  tower,  which,  it  is 
said,  the  French  thought  was  pure  gold.  Every  ladder 
planted  by  them  against  the  tower,  however,  snapped  in 
the  middle,  and  the  holy  emblem  still  glistens  in  the  sun. 

Within  the  Kremlin  are  several  palaces  and  a  most 
remarkable  group  of  churches.  Although  Christian  edi¬ 
fices,  they  look  more  like  mosques,  and  the  interior  is 
unique  in  every  way.  The  massive  altars  are  all  a  mass 
of  gilt,  which  the  guide  informs  you  is  pure  gold,  and 
the  holy  icons  are  set  with  many  gems,  which  your  cice¬ 
rone  declares  to  be  real  diamonds,  rubies,  emeralds,  etc. 
If  the  stories  told  of  the  wealth  in  these  churches  are 
true,  then  the  amount  represented  in  this  group  of  cathe¬ 
drals  almost  surpasses  belief. 

The  Uspensky  Sobor,  a  plain  church  on  the  outside, 
is  the  coronation  church  where  all  the  Russian  emperors 
are  crowned,  and  it  is  also  the  resting-place  of  the  patri¬ 
archs  who  at  one  time  ruled  the  Russian  Church.  The 
coronation  ceremonies  are  very  imposing.  A  platform 
is  shown  on  which  it  is  said  that  all  the  emperors  from 
Ivan  the  Terrible  down  have  been  crowned.  It  would 
be  more  proper  to  say  where  the  czars  have  crowned 
themselves.  A  czar  is  so  incomparably  superior  to  all 
other  men  that  no  one,  not  even  the  Chief  Metropolitan, 


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55 


can  place  the  crown  on  his  brow  —  so  he  does  it  himself. 
No  other  ruler  of  a  civilized  country  makes  such  an 
absurd  claim. 

During  the  coronation  ceremonies  of  Nicholas  II 
there,  in  1896,  a  terrible  fatality  occurred  just  outside 
the  city.  Camped  on  the  plains  were,  it  is  said,  two  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  or  more  peasants,  who  had  come  for  the 
promised  free  food  and  souvenir  coronation  cups.  The 
masses  surged  toward  a  common  centre.  Tighter  and 
tighter,  closer  and  closer,  crept  the  lines,  until  thousands 
were  maimed  and  mutilated  and  fourteen  hundred  lost 
their  lives.  It  was  one  of  those  unfortunate  occurrences 
for  which  no  one  seems  to  blame. 

Opposite  the  Uspensky  Sobor,  and  on  the  southern  side 
of  the  Cathedral  Square,  is  the  Archangelsky  Sobor,  or 
Cathedral.  The  original  church  built  on  this  spot,  in 
1333,  collapsed  a  couple  of  centuries  later,  and  a  new 
one  was  erected  by  an  Italian  architect  after  Byzantine 
models.  The  Russian  rulers  of  the  houses  of  Rurik  and 
Romanov  up  to  Peter  II,  with  the  single  exception  of 
Peter  the  Great,  who  is  buried  in  the  city  founded  by 
him,  rest  in  this  cathedral.  The  walls  are  decorated  with 
their  portraits.  Behind  this  church  is  the  Blagovestchen- 
sky  Cathedral,  which  is  the  work  of  Russian  architects. 
A  number  of  royal  marriages  and  baptisms  have  taken 
place  in  this  cathedral. 

The  Bell  Tower  of  Ivan  the  Great,  which  stands  near 
the  cathedrals,  is  a  noted  structure.  It  is  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  high,  overtowering  all  the  other 
domes,  and  was  completed  in  1600.  It  is  constructed 
with  octagonal  walls,  and  is  surmounted  by  a  golden 
dome  and  cross.  It  is  the  campanile  of  the  Kremlin. 
In  it  thirty-six  bells  —  two  of  silver  —  are  hung,  some 
with  clappers  and  others  without.  The  largest  bell  is 


56 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


in  itself  no  pigmy,  except  when  compared  with  the  giant 
bell  underneath.  It  weighs  sixty-five  tons.  From  the 
top  of  this  tower  one  obtains  the  best  possible  view  of 
Moscow,  and  it  is  a  wonderful  panorama  that  well  re¬ 
pays  one  for  the  climb  of  scores  of  steps. 

This  group  of  churches  is  the  scene  of  an  interesting 
ceremony  on  the  evening  preceding  Easter.  An  immense 
crowd  of  people  gathers  in  and  around  these  historic 
churches.  It  is  a  mixed  crowd.  The  bearded  moujik 
in  his  well-worn  sheep-skin,  as  well  as  the  more  pros¬ 
perous  merchant,  and  even  the  noble  in  his  seal  or  sable- 
skin  greatcoat,  will  be  seen  in  the  throng.  Bright-eyed 
young  women,  with  their  warm  shawls  drawn  closely 
around  them,  stand  side  by  side  with  shivering  old 
women.  In  each  hand  is  held  a  lighted  taper,  and  these 
myriads  of  flickering  little  flames  produce  a  curious  illu¬ 
mination,  which  gives  a  weird  picturesqueness  to  the 
old  Kremlin.  As  midnight  approaches  the  hum  of  voices 
ceases,  for  all  await  that  hour.  When  the  deep  tone  of 
the  great  bell  in  the  Tower  of  Ivan  the  Great  proclaims 
that  hour,  all  the  bells  in  Moscow  sound  forth  their  little 
tune.  Each  bell  seems  bent  in  an  effort  to  drown  out 
all  its  competitors.  This  din  seems  to  stir  up  all  the 
dormant  emotions  in  the  rather  sluggish  Russians. 

“  He  is  risen  ”  is  on  every  one’s  lips,  and  each  one 
greets  his  neighbour  with  this  glad  tidings.  In  theory 
each  person  is  supposed  to  greet  everybody  else  with  a 
fraternal  kiss  as  well  as  embrace,  indicating  that  all  are 
brethren  in  Christ.  In  modern  life  this  is  rather  imprac¬ 
tical,  and,  besides,  the  crowds  in  modern  Moscow  are 
rather  large,  so  that  it  is  not  literally  carried  out.  The 
kisses  are  generally  confined  to  members  of  the  family, 
although  a  friend  of  mine,  whose  truthfulness  I  have 
always  accepted,  who  was  present  on  one  occasion,  said 


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57 


that  a  number  of  impulsive  young  ladies  greeted  him 
in  this  fashion.  I  hope  this  will  not  discourage  the  at¬ 
tendance  of  young  men  hereafter.  The  service  lasts  for 
two  or  three  hours,  and  is  then  followed  by  that  of  bless¬ 
ing  the  Easter  cakes,  each  one  with  a  lighted  taper  stuck 
in  it.  These  will  be  found  in  long  rows  outside  the 
cathedral.  On  Easter  Day  it  is  customary  for  friends 
to  greet  each  other  with  “  Christ  hath  risen,”  and  the 
one  thus  addressed  replies  with  “  In  truth  He  is  risen!  ” 
They  then  kiss  each  other  three  times  on  the  right  and 
left  cheek  alternately. 

The  Kremlin  Palace  is  a  very  interesting  building, 
and  contains  some  rich  as  well  as  handsome  apartments. 
In  the  Hall  of  St.  George,  columns  of  alabaster  support 
a  gilded  roof,  and  it  is  here  that  state  receptions  are 
held.  The  Hall  of  St.  Andrew  is  different,  and  twisted 
columns  are  used,  ornamented  with  flowers  of  gold. 
There  are  many  mirrors.  The  floor  i$  inlaid  with  many 
kinds  of  wood,  worked  into  every  conceivable  design. 
The  ceiling  is  resplendent  with  heraldic  devices,  and  is 
almost  seventy  feet  high.  The  throne  of  the  Czar  is 
magnificent,  with  steps  of  marble  leading  to  it.  The 
framework,  which  supports  the  silken  walls,  is  gilded  and 
set  with  gems.  A  golden  crown  surmounts  the  top  of 
the  canopy.  Within  the  canopy  is  a  richly  gilded  chair, 
inwrought  with  precious  stones  in  the  design  of  the 
double  eagle.  The  treasury  contains  a  marvellous  and 
unsurpassed  collection  of  jewels,  which  the  various  em¬ 
perors  have  gathered  from  Persia,  India  and  Africa. 
The  personal  jewels  of  various  sovereigns,  their  crowns 
set  with  hundreds  of  diamonds  and  rubies,  and  the  coro¬ 
nation  robes  of  the  sovereigns  and  court  are  here  pre¬ 
served  and  shown.  There  is  also  a  chair  said  to  contain 
a  piece  of  the  true  cross. 


58 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Within  the  Kremlin  walls  are  a  number  of  other  pal¬ 
aces  where  governmental  work  is  carried  on,  but  they 
are  not  especially  interesting.  The  vandalism  of  Napo¬ 
leon’s  soldiers  is  pointed  out  in  the  cathedrals,  where 
they  attempted  to  pry  out  with  their  bayonets  the  gilt 
frames  of  the  sacred  icons.  But  his  defeat  is  vividly 
portrayed  in  a  long  row  of  eight  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  cannon,  in  front  of  the  arsenal,  which  were  either 
captured  from  him  and  his  allies,  or  abandoned  on  the 
fatal  retreat  from  Moscow,  during  which  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million  lives  were  lost.  A  monument,  sur¬ 
mounted  by  a  cross,  stands  near  here,  which  marks  the 
spot  where  the  Grand  Duke  Sergius  was  killed,  in  1905, 
when  within  a  few  steps  of  his  stopping-place. 

Some  one  has  said  that  Moscow  is  celebrated  for  two 
things  —  a  cannon  that  has  never  been  discharged  and 
a  bell  that  was  never  rung.  The  largest  cannon  ever 
cast,  called  in  jest  “  The  Baby,”  always  attracts  attention. 
It  was  a  most  impractical  weapon,  but  is  richly  orna¬ 
mented.  It  weighs  forty-three  tons,  and  the  great  balls 
cast  for  it,  which  lie  at  its  base,  weigh  forty-three  hun¬ 
dred  pounds  each.  It  is  said  to  have  been  cast  in  1586. 
A  man  can  easily  stand  beneath  this  cannon,  and  the 
mouth  is  about  three  feet  in  diameter.  It  was  never 
fired  for  fear  of  disaster.  The  famous  Kremlin  Bell 
faces  the  parade  ground  at  one  corner,  and  at  the  foot 
of  the  tower  it  was  intended  to  occupy.  It  was  cast 
in  1735,  and  weighs  more  than  two  hundred  tons.  It 
was  too  heavy,  one  report  says,  and  fell  from  the  tower 
during  a  conflagration  of  the  same  year.  In  the  fall 
a  large  piece  was  broken  out,  which  stands  by  the  side 
of  the  bell.  Another  story  says  that  the  piece  fell  out 
before  it  was  received,  owing  to  a  defect  in  the  casting. 
Everybody  wants  to  touch  it,  and  the  edge  is  worn 


THE  KREMLIN  BELL,  MOSCOW 


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59 


smooth.  A  man  can  enter  through  this  hole,  and  fifty 
people  can  stand  inside.  The  broken  piece  alone  weighs 
ten  tons.  It  is  really  a  wonderful  bell,  and  was  made  at 
the  expense  of  the  Empress  Anne.  Bells  in  Russia  are 
regarded  as  sacred  instruments  of  worship.  Their  soft 
and  silvery  tones  are  ringing  at  all  hours  of  the  day  in 
Moscow. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  parade  ground,  and  over- 
looking  the  river,  has  been  erected  a  handsome  memorial 
to  Alexander  II.  Although  extremely  modern  in  archi¬ 
tecture,  it  has  been  made  to  conform  with  the  other 
buildings  and  does  not  seem  out  of  place.  It  is  built 
around  a  gigantic  statue  of  that  man,  and  represents  him 
standing  erect,  calm  and  superb  in  his  royal  robes.  The 
gallery  affords  an  excellent  view  of  the  lower  part  of 
the  city  across  the  river.  The  ceiling  contains  mosaics  of 
nearly  all  the  old  czars. 

Not  a  great  distance  from  the  Kremlin  walls,  and 
plainly  visible  from  almost  every  section  of  the  city,  is 
the  new  Cathedral  of  the  Saviour.  This  magnificent  edi¬ 
fice  was  built  by  popular  subscription  to  commemorate 
the  escape  of  Moscow  from  the  French.  Millions  of 
roubles  were  collected,  but  the  work  lagged  from  its 
commencement,  in  1837,  until  it  was  finally  completed 
in  1883.  No  one  knows  where  the  greater  part  of  the 
money  went,  but  it  disappeared.  The  actual  cost  of  it 
was  many  millions  of  dollars.  The  central  dome  is  sur¬ 
rounded  by  four  smaller  ones.  A  frieze  of  life-size  fig¬ 
ures  extends  around  the  walls.  The  site  covers  more 
than  six  thousand  square  yards,  and  the  height  is  very 
great.  It  is  built  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  cross.  The 
walls  are  of  fine  white  sandstone,  and  the  domes  are 
covered  with  gold.  The  interior  is  all  finished  in  marble, 
with  much  porphyry,  jasper  and  alabaster  exquisitely 


60 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


polished,  used  in  the  ornamentation.  The  pavement  is 
of  variegated  marble.  The  walls  and  panels  are  covered 
with  many  mosaic  pictures,  and  with  sacred  paintings 
by  the  first  artists  of  Russia.  Some  of  them  are  real  art 
treasures,  as  the  artists  undoubtedly  gave  the  very  best 
that  was  in  them  to  this  work.  The  most  striking  of  all 
the  paintings  is  that  representing  the  Trinity,  which  fills 
the  dome.  On  the  walls  are  nearly  two  hundred  tablets, 
bearing  Imperial  manifestos  and  the  names  of  the  fallen 
heroes  of  1812. 

Within  this  magnificent  cathedral  there  is  absolute 
equality.  Noble  and  peasant  kneel  or  stand  side  by  side, 
for  there  are  no  favoured  places.  No  seats  or  benches 
are  provided.  The  altar  room,  back  of  the  altar  proper, 
is  forbidden  to  women,  and  no  one  of  that  sex  can  cross 
its  portals.  I  attended  a  service  in  this  cathedral,  when 
it  was  so  crowded  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  move 
about.  Poorly  dressed  people  stood  side  by  side  with 
others  dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion,  each  intently 
listening  to  the  chanting  of  the  several  priests  and  the 
responses  by  the  male  choir.  The  appeal  of  the  ritual 
is  wholly  to  the  senses  and  the  emotions.  The  bishop 
stood  before  the  altar  clad  in  robes  stiff  with  gold.  From 
behind  the  altar  other  long-haired  priests  brought  books, 
which  were  read  in  the  unintelligible  mutter  of  solem¬ 
nity.  Clouds  of  incense  filled  the  air.  Candles  were 
carried  up  and  down,  and,  with  one  in  each  hand,  the 
bishop  bestowed  his  blessing  upon  all.  Old  priests  and 
young,  glittering  in  the  uniforms  of  holiness,  kissed  his 
hands.  A  choir  of  boys  and  men  raised  the  glory  of 
Russian  music  in  alternate  chant.  Louder  and  louder 
this  earthly  music  swelled  with  exquisite  modulations. 
The  reverberations  of  a  low,  deep  bass  rolled  through  the 
incense-laden  air.  The  gleam  of  the  burning  tapers  ran 


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61 


from  arch  to  arch,  while  the  marble  walls  and  gilded 
capitals  shone  with  points  of  fire.  A  small  bell  tinkled ; 
a  black-maned  priest  with  a  wonderful  voice  fairly  bel¬ 
lowed  until  the  whole  cathedral  was  ringing  with  the 
prolonged  sound.  The  masses  swayed  up  and  down  as 
they  bowed  and  crossed  themselves  at  this  climax  in  the 
service.  No  one  who  has  seen  such  a  service  can  doubt 
the  extraordinary  hold  which  religion  has  upon  the  Rus¬ 
sian  people. 

Near  this  church  and  facing  the  river  a  statue  of 
Alexander  III  in  a  sitting  posture  was  unveiled  in  June, 
1912,  by  Nicholas  II,  his  son.  The  money  was  raised 
by  public  subscription,  and  a  handsome  approach  was 
built  facing  the  river  front.  The  occasion  of  this  dedi¬ 
cation  was  the  first  time  the  present  Czar  had  visited 
Moscow  since  1905,  when  his  uncle,  the  Grand  Duke 
Sergius,  was  assassinated.  In  his  honour  the  entire  city 
was  overhauled  and  renovated.  The  domes  were  re¬ 
gilded,  and  the  towers  of  the  Kremlin  were  recoloured. 
Buildings  were  whitewashed  —  if  such  an  expression 
can  be  used  —  in  the  original  colours.  The  royal  palace 
was  overhauled  and  redecorated.  Many  private  homes 
and  business  places  along  the  line  of  march  were  ordered 
to  be  repainted,  and  no  excuse  would  be  accepted.  Out¬ 
side  mural  paintings  were  retouched,  and  it  was  a  reju¬ 
venated  Moscow  that  greeted  Nicholas  on  the  occasion 
of  his  visit.  Even  the  streets  were  made  more  passable 
by  having  some  of  the  bad  places  filled  in. 

Moscow  is  irregularly  built,  as  the  visitor  quickly 
learns.  Most  of  the  streets  are  roughly  paved,  also,  as 
the  jolting  of  the  little  droshkis  soon  convinces.  Two 
or  three  stories  is  the  usual  height  of  the  buildings,  and 
the  people  frequently  live  in  the  upper  stories,  while  the 
street  floor  is  devoted  to  business.  The  little  driveways 


62 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


in  the  business  section  lead  back  to  small  courts  sur¬ 
rounded  by  buildings,  in  which  hundreds  of  people  dwell 
huddled  together  in  close  quarters.  Most  of  these  are 
peasants  —  former  serfs  —  who  have  moved  into  the 
city  to  work  in  the  factories  or  do  common  labour.  One 
court  sometimes  opens  into  another,  and  the  stranger  is 
lost  when  he  finally  emerges  on  the  street.  Children 
swarm  in  these  courts,  and  the  wonder  is  that  they  look 
so  round  and  chubby  in  the  midst  of  apparent  poverty. 
In  the  winter  time  this  appearance  is  doubtless  due  to  the 
padded  coats  they  wear.  In  that  season,  when  the  win¬ 
dows  are  hermetically  sealed,  oxygen  must  be  at  a  pre¬ 
mium.  On  the  broader  boulevards  the  many  rows  of 
trees  give  a  beautiful  touch  of  green  to  the  monotony 
of  white  walls,  while  the  blue  and  gilded  domes  every¬ 
where  show  the  element  of  faith  in  this  most  religious 
of  cities.  Several  parks  and  a  great  race  course  add  to 
the  opportunities  for  play  and  recreation. 

The  Theatre  Square  is  one  of  the  finest  open  spaces 
in  the  city.  It  is  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  hotels, 
business  houses  and  theatres.  On  it  will  be  found  the 
handsome  Opera  House  and  the  Imperial  Theatre,  which 
was  first  opened  in  1824,  but  was  rebuilt  thirty  years 
afterward  following  a  destructive  fire.  It  contains  six 
tiers  of  boxes,  and  seats  four  thousand  people.  When 
filled  with  a  fashionable  audience  it  is  a  beautiful  sight. 
The  week  nights  are  usually  given  up  to  opera,  while 
Sunday  night  is  devoted  to  the  ballet,  of  which  Moscow 
is  the  home.  Girls  are  carefully  trained  for  this  work 
from  early  youth,  and,  if  proficient,  are  kept  at  it  and 
retired  on  government  pay  at  a  comparatively  early  age. 
Many  are  taken  from  the  foundling  asylums  of  Moscow 
and  St.  Petersburg.  The  ballets  are  magnificently  staged, 
and  the  entire  play  is  carried  through  without  a  word 


IMPERIAL  THEATRE,  MOSCOW 


The  Muscovite  Capital 


63 


being  spoken.  It  is  a  wonderful  spectacle  at  first  sight. 
Added  to  this  is  the  additional  attraction  of  a  Muscovite 
audience.  One  long  intermission  is  given,  during 
which  time  the  people  parade  up  and  down  the  halls 
and  reception  rooms.  It  gives  an  opportunity  for 
everybody  to  look  at  everybody  and  speak  to  their 
friends. 

\ 

The  Petrovka,  which  runs  along  one  side  of  the  Im¬ 
perial  Theatre,  is  the  great  shopping  street  of  Moscow, 
and  is  lined  with  handsome  stores.  In  the  last  few  years 
it  has  improved  greatly,  as  handsome  new  stores  have 
been  erected.  Arcades  are  popular,  and  there  are  a  num¬ 
ber  of  them  on  the  Petrovka.  Crossing  this  street,  and 
parallel  with  it,  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  are  several 
other  shopping  streets,  where  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  spend 
one’s  money.  Many  of  these  stores  are  thoroughly  up- 
to-date  and  are  owned  by  foreigners.  The  large  stores 
have  electric  bells  on  the  outside  which  a  stranger  can 
push.  An  English,  French  or  German  speaking  inter¬ 
preter  will  answer  in  a  few  minutes  and  conduct  the 
purchaser  through  the  department  desired.  It  is  quite 
a  convenient  arrangement  for  the  stranger  who  does  not 
understand  Russian. 

Around  Theatre  Square  and  along  the  Petrovka  the 
life  of  Moscow  may  be  seen.  It  is  an  interesting  study. 
Ladies  shop  with  as  much  interest  as  they  do  in  America, 
only  in  a  more  reserved  manner.  The  girls  behind  the 
counters  greet  you  with  the  same  smile  as  they  would 
in  New  York  or  Paris.  But  it  is  on  the  street  where  the 
most  interest  lies.  There  types  of  all  the  races  that  dwell 
in  Russia  may  be  seen.  Rich  Tartar  merchants  in  their 
bright  green  robes,  lined  with  variegated  colours,  and 
wearing  round  caps,  walk  the  streets  almost  any  day. 
Some  of  them  are  stalwart  men  with  features  almost 


64 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Mongolian.  Chinese  and  Japanese  pass  through  here  in 
considerable  numbers  on  their  way  to  and  from  the 
Orient.  There  is  no  resentment  felt  toward  the  inhab¬ 
itants  of  the  Island  Empire  because  of  the  “  late  un¬ 
pleasantness.”  Diplomats  and  high  government  officials 
of  all  nations  take  this  route  to  and  from  the  East.  They 
are  the  bane  of  the  poor  consuls,  who  feel  under  obliga¬ 
tions  to  entertain  them,  and  the  cost  oftentimes  comes 
out  of  their  own  pocket  —  at  least  that  is  true  of  United 
States  consular  officials.  It  comes  very  high  to  act  the 
part  of  an  entertainer  in  Moscow. 

Life  in  Moscow  is  not  dull  from  the  Russian  stand¬ 
point.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  night.  In  a  way 
it  outdoes  either  Paris  or  Vienna.  To  eat,  drink  and 
be  merry  seems  to  be  the  sole  thought  of  the  Muscovites. 
The  people  seem  to  do  with  remarkably  little  sleep.  Mus¬ 
covites  think  nothing  of  calling  on  their  friends  at  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  and  will  stay  until  long  after  midnight. 
The  music  halls  do  not  begin  their  performances  until 
about  eleven,  after  the  theatres  close,  and  from  twelve 
to  three  is  their  busiest  time.  At  three  o’clock,  when 
these  places  of  amusement  close,  many  a  Russian  is  at 
a  loss  what  to  do  the  rest  of  the  night.  The  streets  and 
cafes  are  at  their  liveliest  for  two  or  three  hours  follow¬ 
ing  midnight.  This  is  the  harvest  time  for  the  driver 
of  the  droshki,  for  he  picks  up  many  fares,  and  the  night 
owl  is  a  generous  creature.  The  clerks  have  to  be  at 
their  places  of  business  at  nine  o’clock,  but  the  bosses 
may  not  come  until  noon.  They  surely  do  not  go  on 
the  theory  of  eight  hours  sleep  out  of  twenty-four. 

Let  us  take  a  look  in  at  one  of  the  largest  of  the 
dining  palaces.  It  is  midnight,  and  all  Moscow  seems 
awake.  Droshkis  clatter  along  the  street  and  deliver 
their  burdens  of  fair  women,  clothed  in  the  radiance  of 


A  TARTAR  MERCHANT,  MOSCOW 


The  Muscovite  Capital 


65 


evening  toilet,  and  accompanied  by  their  escorts,  at  the 
door.  The  restaurant  is  filled  with  the  crowds  of  pleas¬ 
ure  seekers.  Behind  a  maze  of  palms  is  an  orchestra, 
which  alternates  from  Wagner  or  Tschaikowski  to  Amer¬ 
ican  rag-time.  It  seems  that  half  the  men  are  in  uniform. 
They  are  public  officials  and  military  officers.  Russian 
soldiers  never  lay  aside  the  garb  of  their  trade.  Even 
the  Czar  is  never  seen  in  civilian  dress.  The  officers  are 
well-groomed  men,  straight  and  well-built,  and  dressed 
in  the  rich  gray  uniform  of  their  regiments.  The  sword- 
straps  are  of  gilt.  With  some  the  swords  hang  straight 
down  the  leg,  and  with  others  the  scabbard  strikes  on  the 
floor  as  the  owner  walks.  All  wear  high  boots  of  dainty 
leather  and  neat  shape,  much  more  suited  for  the  parlour 
than  field  wear.  Two,  three,  possibly  a  half  dozen  med¬ 
als  dangle  on  the  breast  of  the  gray-haired  veterans, 
while  the  younger  men  may  have  only  the  Maltese  cross 
which  tells  of  service  in  Manchuria. 

In  a  great  tank  at  one  side  swim  fish  brought  from 
the  Volga.  An  officer  approaches  with  a  lady  on  his 
arm.  Together  they  watch  the  lively  members  of  the 
finny  tribe,  as  they  swim  to  and  fro  in  a  vain  effort  to 
escape  the  dazzling  lights.  The  officer  invites  the  lady 
to  make  her  choice.  She  does  so.  A  waiter  deftly  nets 
the  fish  and  shows  it  to  the  pair.  Off  to  the  kitchen  goes 
the  wriggling  captive,  and  a  half-hour  later  it  will  be 
served  smoking  hot  to  the  general  and  his  latest  friend. 
Men  by  themselves  walk  up  to  the  buffet  and  whet  their 
appetite  with  some  salads  or  tiny  caviar  sandwiches,  and 
wash  it  down  with  two  or  three  glasses  of  vodka.  The 
air  gradually  becomes  hazy  with  smoke,  for  both  men 
and  wromen  puff  the  little  stuffed  rolls  of  rice  paper. 
Among  the  throng  move  the  Tartar  waiters  with  quiet 
steps.  Champagne  flows  freely.  There  is  now  a  colour 


66 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


on  the  cheeks  and  a  gleam  in  the  eye  that  was  not  there 
when  the  diners  arrived. 

A  policeman !  Strange  it  is  how  the  very  name  of 
Russian  police  usually  strikes  terror  to  the  mind  of  the 
westerner.  It  gives  a  vision  of  midnight  arrests,  dun¬ 
geons  and  transportation  to  Siberia.  Hundreds  of  them 
will  be  seen  on  the  streets  of  Moscow,  and  they  are 
dressed  just  the  same  as  their  fellows  all  over  the  Empire. 
The  policeman  looks  rather  formidable  with  his  military 
uniform,  sabre  and  revolver.  But  I  always  found  him 
polite  and  good  natured,  having  infinite  patience  with 
everybody,  including  the  peasants.  They  were  always 
courteous  to  me  and  all  strangers,  going  to  infinite  pains 
to  give  directions.  Sometimes  they  shook  their  heads 
when  I  wanted  to  photograph  something.  I  had  been 
told  by  several  Muscovites  that  I  would  be  immediately 
arrested,  and  my  camera  confiscated,  if  a  permit  was 
not  secured  for  photographing.  Siberia  did  not  look 
good  to  me  then,  and  my  camera  was  worth  a  consider¬ 
able  sum.  It  took  me  four  days,  the  intervention  of  the 
American  consul,  a  trip  to  police  headcjuarters,  and  a 
little  “  backsheesh  to  secure  this  little  document.  After 
so  much  trouble  I  really  wanted  some  officious  police 
officer  to  intercept  me,  so  that  I  could  Hash  this  permit 
in  his  face  and  enjoy  his  discomfiture.  I  tried  all  kinds 
of  schemes.  I  faced  my  camera  all  around  him  and  even 
at  him,  I  tried  to  look  like  a  suspicious  character  carry¬ 
ing  a  bomb  in  the  black  camera  case,  but  all  to  no  avail. 
Not  once  did  I  have  the  opportunity  to  flash  my  permit, 
either  here  or  at  St.  Petersburg,  except  to  friends  as  an 
interesting  souvenir. 

Drunkenness  and  trivial  disorders  seemed  to  be  treated 
more  leniently  than  in  the  United  States.  I  have  seen 
policemen  argue  with  and  cajole  the  peasants  until  they 


The  Muscovite  Capital 


67 


succeeded  in  getting  them  to  do  what  they  wanted. 
There  would  be  absolutely  no  display  of  force,  and  no 
brutality  whatever.  It  is  another  branch  of  the  police  — 
the  secret  police  spies  —  who  do  the  evil  work  in  Russia. 
The  soldiers  that  one  sees  on  duty  are  of  the  same  type 
as  the  “  cop  ”  —  simple,  good-natured  sons  of  toil  whom 
no  one  need  fear  to  address  or  ask  for  information. 

There  are  many  splendid  public  buildings,  and  a  num¬ 
ber  of  places  of  unusual  interest.  The  Rumianefsky 
Museum  contains  an  almost  priceless  collection  of  curios, 
as  well  as  a  library  of  several  hundred  thousand  volumes. 
It  is  the  public  library  of  Moscow,  and  has  a  good  public 
reading  room.  It  has  an  especially  fine  collection  of  the 
national  costumes  of  Russia.  In  the  archives  of  the 
Ministry  of  Public  Affairs  will  be  found  the  most  pre¬ 
cious  and  most  ancient  chronicles  of  Russian  history, 
excepting  only  those  of  Nestor.  The  Historical  Mu¬ 
seum  has  a  splendid  collection  of  curios  from  the  Cau¬ 
casus,  with  models  of  the  unique  dwellings  in  that  part 
of  the  country.  The  University  is  one  of  the  oldest  in 
Europe,  and  is  well  worth  a  visit.  It  is  situated  on 
Nikitsky  Street. 

The  Tretiakoff  Gallery  of  Moscow  contains  a  collec¬ 
tion  of  more  than  fifteen  hundred  canvases  by  Russian 
artists.  To  any  one  whose  path  ever  leads  him  to  Mos¬ 
cow,  a  visit  to  this  gallery  cannot  be  too  strongly  rec¬ 
ommended.  The  building  is  in  an  obscure  location  diffi¬ 
cult  to  find  even  after  explicit  directions.  The  collection 
was  made  by  two  mem — the  brothers  Tretiakoff  —  and 
was  presented  by  them  to  the  city  in  1893.  They  also 
gave  the  building  and  a  fund,  from  the  income  of  which 
the  collection  is  augmented  from  time  to  time.  It  is  a 
very  interesting  and  carefully  chosen  collection  of  pic¬ 
tures  representing  the  Russian  schools  of  the  eighteenth 


G8 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  nineteenth  centuries.  Here  will  be  found  the  mas¬ 
terpieces  of  such  artists  as  Vasnetsoff,  Levitau,  Reapin, 
Aiwasowski,  Ivanoff,  Vereschazin,  Polieneff,  and  others. 
Thousands  of  Russians  of  every  class  visit  this  gallery, 
and  the  teachers  in  the  public  schools  conduct  their  schol¬ 
ars  through  it  as  an  object  lesson.  It  is  very  interesting 
to  watch  these  school-children,  boys  in  uniforms  and 
girls  with  their  aprons,  troop  through  the  gallery  from 
one  room  to  another,  while  the  teacher  tries  to  explain 
some  of  the  principal  canvases. 

One  of  the  most  striking  pictures  is  that  of  Ivan  the 
Terrible  slaying  his  son  Ivan.  The  Czar  holds  in  his 
arms  the  son  whom  he  has  just  stricken  to  his  death 
with  his  heavy  staff.  It  is  a  fearful  scene,  from  which 
one  turns  in  horror,  only  to  return  to  it  again  and  again. 
The  blood  pouring  from  the  gaping  wound  is  so  realistic. 
Ivan  fain  would  staunch  it.  The  tears  flow  from  his 
horrified  eyes.  Remorse  is  depicted  there  also.  He,  the 
Czar  of  Moscow,  had  killed  his  son.  Nothing  is  seen 
upon  the  floor  but  an  overturned  chair.  All  interest  is 
centred  on  father  and  son,  murderer  and  murdered.  So 
vividly  is  the  scene  and  anguish  portrayed,  that  one  can 
have  only  pity  for  the  poor  old  Czar.  This  wonderful 
painting  is  the  work  of  Reapin.  Another  represents  a 
royal  princess  who  was  imprisoned  in  an  underground 
cell  in  the  Fortress  of  Peter  and  Paul,  in  St.  Petersburg. 
The  water  is  slowly  pouring  in  from  the  Neva.  She  is 
standing  on  the  cot,  the  top  of  which  the  water  has 
almost  reached,  and  terrible  agony  is  writ  all  over  her 
features.  A  painting  by  Doroschenka  has  the  simple 
title  “  Everywhere  is  Life.”  A  car  is  filled  with  con¬ 
victs  bound  to  exile.  They  are  pressing  their  faces 
against  the  iron  bars  of  the  car-windows.  The  central 
figures  are  a  convict,  with  his  wife  and  child,  who  are 


The  Muscovite  Capital 


69 


following  him  into  exile.  They  are  feeding  the  doves 
that  flock  around,  and  all  seem  happy  to  see  the  look  of 
pleasure  on  the  face  of  the  child.  It  is  an  illustration  of 
the  humanity  common  to  all,  convict  or  free  man. 

It  is  the  striking  realism  of  the  scenes,  many  of  which 
have  a  touch  of  the  horrible  and  uncanny,  the  unique 
and  original  effects  in  colours  and  the  entire  departure 
from  the  established  European  schools  that  impresses 
one  in  the  gallery.  Their  landscape  pictures  are  equally 
original  and  natural.  They  catch  every  feeling  and  at¬ 
mosphere  peculiar  to  the  landscape.  They  seem  to  have 
the  eyes  of  a  child  of  nature.  The  storms  at  sea,  by 
Aiwasowski,  with  their  transparent  waves,  almost  drive 
terror  into  the  onlooker.  All  the  furies  of  the  seas 
seem  to  be  let  loose  upon  the  canvas.  His  works  dis¬ 
play  a  wonderful  power  of  imagination  and  theatrical 
effect. 

Another  of  the  interesting  features  of  the  city  is  the 
Foundling  Hospital,  a  great  white  building  along  the 
river.  Thousands  of  infants  are  received  here  each  year, 
some  of  them  from  poor  peasants,  but  more  of  the  father¬ 
less  kind.  There  is  no  revolving  table,  upon  which  the 
infants  are  placed  and  a  bell  rung  to  inform  the  nuns 
within,  such  as  one  finds  in  Latin  Europe  and  South 
America.  They  are  taken  in  at  the  front  door.  The 
only  questions  asked  are  “  Has  the  child  been  baptized?  ” 
and,  if  so,  “By  what  name?”  The  child  is  at  once 
registered  and  given  a  number,  and  a  receipt  is  given  to 
the  parents.  The  parents  may  claim  the  child  at  any 
time  within  ten  years.  The  care  with  which  the  physical 
needs  and  comforts  of  the  babes  are  looked  after  is  most 
commendable.  The  government  gives  large  sums  each 
year  for  its  support,  which  is  raised  by  a  tax  on  playing 
cards.  The  infants,  if  they  survive,  are  educated,  taught 


70 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


a  trade  and  cared  for  until  they  are  able  to  go  out  into 
the  world  and  earn  their  own  living. 

At  some  distance  from  Moscow  is  an  eminence  called 
Sparrow  Hill.  It  overlooks  the  entire  city.  It  was  from 
here  that  Napoleon  caught  his  first  glimpse  of  this  cov¬ 
eted  goal.  His  soldiers  are  said  to  have  cheered  as  this 
enchanting  city  burst  into  view,  for  it  meant  an  end  to 
their  long  march  over  the  steppes.  In  the  distance  the 
domes  of  blue  and  gold  glisten  in  the  sun,  while  the  river 
Moskva  winds  through  the  valley  like  a  silvery  band. 
The  Novo  Devitchy  Convent,  with  its  red  towers  and 
walls,  where  at  least  one  czarina  and  several  women  of 
the  Imperial  families  have  passed  their  lives  in  seclusion, 
lay  between  me  and  the  city,  and  seemed  to  bring  back 
to  mind  the  tragedies  of  Moscow  and  her  rulers.  As  I 
watched  the  scene  from  the  restaurant  on  this  hill,  alter¬ 
nate  clouds  and  sunshine  flitted  over  the  city.  I  thought 
how  this  exemplified  the  history  of  Moscow,  and  of  Rus¬ 
sia  as  well.  Just  then  an  aeroplane  sailed  over  the  city 
like  a  huge  bird,  and  it  seemed  a  prophecy  of  the  better 
things  that  are  to  come.  As  I  left  Sparrow  Hill  gloom 
had  settled  over  the  landscape.  Although  it  was  still 
midday,  the  bright  domes  were  dulled  and  the  whole 
scene  was  sombre.  But  back  of  the  clouds,  as  I  knew, 
the  sun  was  still  shining  brightly.  Sooner  or  later  it 
must  break  through,  and  again  shed  its  radiance  over 
Russia  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  IV 


GREAT  RUSSIA 

Peasant  Life  —  The  Izba  —  Harvest  Festivals  —  Simple  Fare  —  Marriages 
—  Rostov  the  Great  —  Novgorod  —  A  Republic  —  The  Vetche  — 
Ivan  the  Terrible  —  Tula  —  Tolstoi  —  Black  Earth  Region  —  Orel 
—  Kursk  —  A  Market-day  —  A  Typical  Town  —  Villages  —  Pic¬ 
turesque  Wells. 

Great  Russia  was  the  cradle  of  the  real  Russians. 
The  history  of  Russia  is  the  history  of  the  rise  of  the 
Great  Russian  element  from  among  the  other  Slav  races, 
for  the  Great  Russian  was  the  pioneer  of  the  Slav.  Great 
Russia,  as  understood  to-day,  reaches  from  a  little  below 
Kursk  to  the  icy  waters  of  the  Polar  seas ;  from  the  Ural 
Mountains  to  the  Polish  and  Baltic  Provinces  on  the 
west.  The  extreme  north,  however,  which  consists  prin¬ 
cipally  of  forest  and  morass,  has  had  little  influence  on 
the  development  of  the  Empire.  It  was  rather  within 
the  narrower  region,  with  Kursk,  Smolensk,  Novgorod, 
Vologda,  Nijni  Novgorod,  and  Tambov  as  its  outer 
boundaries,  that  the  dominant  Russian  was  produced. 
Within  this  circle  will  be  found  Rostov  the  Great,  Tver, 
Yaroslav,  Vladimir,  Tula,  and  many  other  cities  which 
have  at  some  time  or  another  made  for  themselves  places 
in  history.  Moscow  is  the  centre  of  this  district  —  the 
heart,  so  to  speak  —  toward  which  everything  gravitated 
before  the  rise  of  St.  Petersburg. 

Of  all  the  population  of  Russia,  Great  Russia  numbers 
about  one-third,  possibly  a  little  more.  It  not  only  in- 

71 


72 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


dudes  a  large  territory,  but  the  most  densely  populated 
sections.  Between  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Russia  and 
the  other  sections  —  Little  Russia,  for  instance  —  there 
are  dialectical  as  well  as  ethnological  differences.  Great 
Russians  are  Slavs,  ,  with  an  admixture  of  Finnish  and 
Tartar  blood.  The  Finnish  blood  has  made  them  a  little 
more  phlegmatic  than  the  Little  Russians,  but  it  also  gave 
them  a  greater  toughness  and  obstinacy.  The  Finns  at 
one  time  prevailed  all  along  the  Volga,  but  they  have 
been  practically  absorbed  by  the  Muscovites.  In  the 
process  of  absorption,  however,  they  have  given  a  visible 
touch  to  the  national  characteristics  of  the  latter. 

Great  Russia  is  a  land  of  long  and  severe  winters,  and 
the  life  of  the  peasants  is  to  a  great  extent  determined 
by  that  fact.  For  many  months  nature  lies  dormant,  and 
during  that  season  the  peasant  is  forced  to  be  inactive. 
Unless  he  is  skilled  in  some  of  the  winter  occupations, 
such  as  leather  or  wood  work,  —  and  this  work  is  gen¬ 
erally  confined  to  certain  districts,  —  or  can  secure  em¬ 
ployment  as  a  woodchopper,  he  will  probably  spend  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  in  lying  idly  on  the  great  stove, 
which  fills  one-fourth  of  his  humble  izba.  In  the  timber 
regions  this  simple  cottage  is  usually  built  of  unhewed 
logs,  with  two  or  three  windows  in  a  row  facing  the 
village  street,  and  a  pointed  roof  made  of  planks. 

A  generation  ago  a  chimney  was  almost  a  novelty, 
as  the  peasant  thought  it  would  let  in  a  lot  of  cold  air ; 
but  now  most  of  the  izbas  are  furnished  with  this  smoke 
vent.  Where  forests  are  scarce,  in  the  southern  part  of 
Great  Russia,  a  straw  roof  is  substituted.  The  cornices 
and  windows  are  frequently  ornamented  with  carved 
woodwork,  more  or  less  elaborate.  Oftentime  there  is 
an  arched  entrance  from  the  street  to  the  yard.  But  the 
interior  of  the  izba  usually  consists  of  only  one  room, 


Great  Russia 


73 


perhaps  fifteen  feet  square.  There  may  be  a  small  loft 
overhead,  where  some  of  the  family  sleep.  This  gives 
a  little  extra  space,  and  there  will  be  a  storeroom  some¬ 
where  which  is  not  heated.  Bunks  are  built  around  the 
room,  which  take  the  place  of  beds,  and,  in  cold  weather, 
the  top  of  the  stove  is  the  most  comfortable  place  to  be 
found. 

Underneath  the  izba  there  is  generally  a  sort  of  shallow 
cellar,  where  vegetables,  milk,  and  other  supplies  are 
kept.  The  walls  and  stove  are  kept  freshly  whitewashed. 
However  dirty  the  house  may  be,  there  is  generally  a 
neat  white  lace  curtain  at  each  window,  and  a  row  of 
flower-pots.  The  Russian  housewife  seems  to  feel  the 
need  of  a  little  colour  in  the  midst  of  her  dreary  sur¬ 
roundings.  One  can  imagine  what  the  atmosphere  be¬ 
comes,  with  the  windows  hermetically  sealed  for  several 
months.  The  only  fresh  air  introduced  is  when  some 
one  passes  in  or  out  of  the  door.  Every  bit  of  the  hi¬ 
bernal  air  admitted  must  be  heated,  the  peasant  argues, 
and  that  means  more  fuel.  The  stable  for  the  horses, 
cows,  and  other  live  stock  adjoins  the  house,  and  they 
must  be  given  a  share  of  the  heat  as  well. 

A  village  in  Great  Russia  usually  consists  of  long 
lines  of  such  izbas  facing  each  other,  with  a  broad  street 
separating  them.  The  peasants  build  their  own  izbas, 
and  they  will  last  about  twenty  years.  But  fires  are 
frequent,  and  it  is  said  that  on  the  average  an  entire  vil¬ 
lage  is  burned  out  once  in  seven  years.  These  fires  sel¬ 
dom  happen  by  accident.  They  are  more  often  the  work 
of  an  incendiary.  A  man  who  has  a  spite  against  some 
one  else  sets  fire  to  his  enemy’s  house.  Far  more  fre¬ 
quently,  however,  the  fires  arise  from  men  enkindling 
their  own  houses  in  order  to  get  their  insurance.  The 
women  work  harder  than  the  men,  for  many  of  them 


74 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

still  spin  and  weave  during  the  inactive  months;  but 
this  is  dying  out,  as  the  factories  turn  out  the  same  goods 
so  much  more  cheaply. 

But  spring  conies  at  last,  and  the  snow  begins  to  melt. 
No  sooner  has  the  snow  disappeared  than  the  tiny  shoots 
of  grass  spring  up,  and  the  trees  begin  to  bud.  The 
transition  takes  place  much  more  rapidly  than  in  tem¬ 
perate  climes.  The  cattle  are  brought  out  and  sprinkled 
with  holy  water  by  the  priests,  for  all  of  them  are  very 
thin  by  this  time,  after  a  diet  of  straw  for  months,  and 
no  exercise.  The  peasants  are  impatient  to  undertake 
their  field  labours.  They  begin  to  plough  as  soon  as 
possible  for  their  summer  crop  of  oats  and  the  buck¬ 
wheat,  which  is  largely  used  for  food.  Then  comes  the 
hay-making,  and  the  ripening  of  the  wheat  or  rye  inau¬ 
gurates  the  harvest.  Rye  is  the  principal  food  of  the 
rural  peasants,  in  the  form  of  black  bread  that  one  sees 
everywhere.  From  the  middle  of  July  to  the  end  of 
August  the  peasant  may  work  day  and  night,  and  yet 
he  will  have  barely  time  enough  to  reap  his  harvest  and 
stack  his  grain.  Then  he  must  prepare  the  fallow  ground 
for  the  winter  crop.  During  this  period  he  is  trans¬ 
formed  from  a  seemingly  lazy  individual  to  an  example 
of  commendable  industry.  Sixteen  hours  of  continuous 
labour  in  the  field  is  nothing  unusual  for  him  to  perform. 

After  such  a  season  of  strenuous  exertion,  there  must 
be  some  relaxation.  This  is  provided  by  the  harvest 
festivals.  It  is  a  season  of  rejoicing  and  revelry,  and 
in  each  parish  fetes  are  held.  The  fete  is  begun  by  serv¬ 
ices  in  the  village  church,  at  which  the  villagers  appear 
in  their  best  costumes.  In  the  old  days  each  province 
had  its  own  distinctive  costume,  and  a  village  festival 
was  a  sight  worth  beholding.  To-day  costumes  have 
generally  disappeared  in  Great  Russia,  but  high  leather 


CROWNING  PEASANT  GIRLS  WITH  WREATHS  OF  CORN  DURING  A 
HARVEST  FESTIVAL 


Great  Russia 


75 


boots  are  worn  by  both  men  and  women,  and  these  are 
replaced  by  felt  ones  in  winter.  A  handkerchief  is 
always  a  part  of  the  woman’s  attire.  It  is  folded  cross- 
ways  and  tied  closely  under  the  chin.  After  the  religious 
exercises  comes  the  midday  meal.  In  general,  the  Rus¬ 
sian  peasant’s  fare  is  extremely  simple,  and  includes 
very  little  meat.  Sour  cabbage,  black  bread,  and  a 
cucumber  furnish  many  a  meal.  This  fermented  cabbage 
is  one  of  the  most  important  articles  of  food  in  Russia. 
It  is  cooked  in  a  variety  of  ways,  but  in  soup  forms, 
with  rye  bread,  the  staple  food.  The  cabbage  is  cut  in 
pieces  and  put  in  casks,  together  with  a  little  salt,  and 
allowed  to  ferment. 

It  is  remarkable  the  amount  of  work  that  the  Russian 
peasant  will  do  on  this  simple  fare.  The  fasts  ordained 
by  the  Church  still  further  diminish  the  quantity  of  food 
consumed  by  him.  There  are  two  constant  fast  days 
each  week,  Wednesday  and  Friday.  They  must  abstain 
from  all  kinds  of  flesh  on  the  eves  of  holidays  and  the 
two  fast  days  each  week,  nor  can  they  taste  butter,  eggs, 
or  milk.  There  are  also  four  Lents  each  year,  the  long¬ 
est  of  which  is  seven  weeks.  The  first  week  of  this  Lent 
is  butter  week,  and  they  have  liberty  to  eat  all  manner 
of  meat  except  fish  during  that  week. 

But  now,  during  the  harvest  festivals,  everything  is 
plentiful,  and  pork,  mutton  or  beef,  and  possibly  all, 
will  adorn  the  moujik’s  table.  Home-brewed  beer  has 
been  prepared  in  plentiful  quantities,  and  enough  vodka 
will  also  be  provided  for  several  glasses  around.  As  the 
afternoon  advances  the  effects  of  the  vodka  become  more 
and  more  noticeable.  Many,  in  various  degrees  of  in¬ 
toxication,  may  be  seen  strolling  along  the  road  toward 
their  homes,  or  lying  by  the  roadside  in  complete  uncon¬ 
sciousness.  There  they  will  remain  until  morning,  un- 


76 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


less  some  of  their  friends  pick  them  up.  On  the  whole, 
these  village  fetes  of  Russia  are  rather  a  saddening 
spectacle. 

Marriage  usually  takes  place  at  a  comparatively  early 
age  among  these  peasants.  Courtship  occurs  in  the 
spring,  and  marriage  follows  in  the  fall.  A  man,  a 
woman,  and  a  horse  make  a  household.  The  man  can 
purchase  the  horse,  if  he  has  the  mercenary  wherewithal, 
but  obtaining  a  wife  is  a  little  different.  Generally  a 
matchmaker,  who  may  be  an  aunt  or  other  relative,  is 
employed,  who  looks  over  the  eligible  young  women  of 
the  village.  It  is  unlawful  to  marry  cousins  even  of  the 
fourth  degree,  as  well  as  a  sister-in-law,  for  she  is  looked 
upon  as  a  blood  relative.  When  an  eligible  girl  is  found, 
her  relatives  are  invited  to  come  to  the  young  man’s 
home  and  see  for  themselves  his  family  and  home. 
Then,  if  they  are  satisfied,  the  groom-to-be’s  family  are 
invited  to  return  the  call.  The  groom  will  pay  a  certain 
sum  to  buy  the  bride’s  trousseau,  but  her  dowry  may  be 
only  a  pair  of  strong  arms  to  do  her  share  of  the  work, 
and  health.  Good  looks  do  not  count  so  much  with 
these  matchmakers,  and,  in  fact,  handsome  girls  are 
rather  the  exception  in  Great  Russia.  The  weddings 
are  comparatively  simple,  but  the  wedding-feast  often 
lasts  for  two  or  three  days,  if  money  and  eatables  are 
in  sufficient  quantities.  The  newly  married  couple  are 
showered  with  hops,  as  indicative  of  a  happy  future, 
instead  of  the  rice  of  the  Anglo-Saxon.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  a  legal  divorce,  although  separation  is  not 
uncommon.  A  man  may  marry  three  times,  but  no 
more,  by  the  rules  of  the  Orthodox  Church.  A  widow 
can  take  a  second  spouse,  but  she  should  not  do  so  in 
less  than  six  months,  for  that  would  be  an  impropriety. 

Rostov  the  Great  is  a  city  frequently  mentioned  in 


Great  Russia 


77 


Russian  history.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  oldest  of  the  ven¬ 
erable  cities  of  Great  Russia.  It  lies  about  one  hundred 
and  sixty  miles  north  of  Moscow.  Mention  of  this  city 
may  be  found  as  early  as  the  tenth  century.  It  was  here 
that  Christianity  was  first  preached  by  a  Greek  mission¬ 
ary  from  Byzantium.  The  ancient  Kremlin,  surrounded 
by  an  old  wall  with  bastions,  still  stands,  and  encloses 
the  royal  palace,  archbishop’s  palace,  and  several 
churches.  Like  Novgorod  and  Pskoff,  this  city  was 
a  republic  in  the  time  of  its  greatest  prosperity.  Rostov 
is  of  little  importance  to-day,  and  even  the  name  is  gen¬ 
erally  associated  with  that  larger  city  officially  known 
as  Rostov-on-Don.  Yaroslav,  Tver,  Suzdal,  Vladimir, 
and  Smolensk  were  also  at  one  time  important  govern¬ 
ments,  with  their  own  Grand  Prince.  It  is  of  Novgorod, 
however,  that  I  shall  treat  as  the  best  example  of  the 
early  Russian  city.  It  is  situated  on  a  branch  line  of 
the  Imperial  Railway,  and  about  the  same  distance  from 
St.  Petersburg  as  Rostov  is  from  Moscow. 

It  was  around  Novgorod  — old  Novgorod,  not  Nijni 
Novgorod,  the  fair  city  —  that  real  Russia  grew  up. 
It  is  distant  about  one  hundred  miles  southeast  of  St. 
Petersburg.  From  remote  antiquity  this  city  had  been 
the  political  centre  of  Russia.  Novgorod  is  perhaps 
more  intimately  connected  with  the  origin  and  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  aggressive  Slav  race  than  any  other  Russian 
city.  In  1862  a  monument  was  erected  commemorating 
the  first  thousand  years  of  Russian  history,  and  it  was 
located  in  Novgorod  as  the  oldest  city.  This  monument 
is  a  colossal  pedestal  of  stone,  surmounted  by  an  enor¬ 
mous  globe,  round  which  are  grouped  figures  emblemat¬ 
ical  of  Russian  history. 

From  very  ancient  times  Novgorod  was  divided  into 
two  parts,  separated  by  the  river  Volkhov,  which  con- 


78 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


nects  Lakes  Ilmen  and  Ladoga.  On  one  side  was  the 
commercial  city  and  many  churches;  on  the  other  shore 
was  the  fortress,  with  the  Kremlin  forming  a  sort  of 
acropolis.  This  was  a  large  and  slightly  elevated  en¬ 
closure  encompassed  by  high  brick  walls,  and  in  part 
by  a  moat.  It  dates  back  to  864,  in  the  days  of  Rurik, 
and  is  frequently  mentioned  in  early  annals.  The  two 
parts  have  for  centuries  been  connected  by  a  bridge.  At 
one  time  this  seemingly  unimportant  place  was  one  of 
the  most  influential  cities  of  Europe.  At  the  very  open¬ 
ing  of  authentic  Russian  history,  we  find  the  Novgo- 
rodians  at  the  head  of  a  strong  confederation  of  tribes. 
Its  conquests  at  one  time  included  the  whole  of  Northern 
Russia,  and  extended  as  far  as  Siberia.  Even  Nurem¬ 
berg  was  not  of  greater  importance.  To  appreciate  this 
city  one  must  leave  his  imagination  revel  in  the  past, 
when  Novgorod  was  a  virile  semi-republic.  It  was  the 
fate  of  Novgorod  to  sink  into  oblivion  as  Moscow  grew 
in  importance. 

The  republic  of  Novgorod  dates  from  almost  the  sixth 
century.  The  inhabitants  at  that  time  summoned  three 
Varangian  brothers  to  come  and  govern  them.  They 
were  tired  of  constant  warfare,  and  wished  to  engage 
in  agriculture  and  commerce.  By  the  death  of  two  of 
the  brothers,  Rurik  was  left  as  sole  ruler,  and  a  severe 
ruler  he  proved  to  be.  And  yet  these  republicans  were 
never  happy  unless  they  had  a  prince  to  rule  over  them. 
True,  it  is,  that  these  princes  were  changed  often,  and, 
in  fact,  their  reputation  for  deposing  rulers  was  so  well 
known  that  many  of  those  invited  refused  to  accept  the 
proffered  honour.  But  the  republic  prospered  through 
its  commerce,  for  Novgorod  was  a  city  of  merchants. 
She  had  commercial  relations  from  Constantinople  to 
the  German  states  on  the  Baltic.  Through  Novgorod 


Great  Russia 


79 


the  rich  merchandise  of  Asia  found  its  way  to  Europe. 
It  was  by  way  of  this  same  city  that  the  manufacturers 
of  Europe  reached  the  Eastern  tribes. 

Novgorod  was  renowned  both  for  the  shrewdness  of 
its  merchants  and  the  bravery  of  its  warriors.  The  Nov- 
gorodians  boasted  that  they  had  never  been  in  subjection 
or  felt  the  yoke  of  the  accursed  Mongols.  “  Who  can 
equal  God  and  the  great  Novgorod?”  was  a  popular 
saying.  From  the  fact  that  no  dynasty  of  princes  was 
ever  able  to  establish  itself  in  Novgorod,  the  people  were 
able  to  retain  their  ancient  liberties  and  customs.  Their 
bill  of  rights  was  embodied  in  a  document  known  as  the 
Letter  of  Justice.  The  invitation  to  a  prince  came  when 
a  party  arose  strong  enough.  The  invitation  usually 
included  certain  conditions.  Then,  if  sentiment  changed, 
or  the  prince  proved  unpopular,  he  was  crowded  out  and 
another  brought  in.  The  people  always  remained  su¬ 
preme.  The  popular  assembly,  called  the  Vetche,  held 
the  supreme  power,  both  nominating  and  expelling  the 
princes.  At  one  period  the  ruler  was  changed  five  times 
in  seven  years.  It  elected  and  deposed  the  archbishops 
as  well,  thus  retaining  control  of  both  the  civil  and  relig¬ 
ious  power.  The  decision  was  made  not  by  a  majority, 
but  a  unanimity  of  voices.  If  there  was  a  small  minor¬ 
ity  the  majority  could  drown  them  in  the  Volkhov,  if 
it  saw  fit,  or  make  way  with  them  in  some  other  manner. 
The  archbishop  was  the  first  dignitary  of  the  republic, 
and  was  superior  in  rank  to  the  prince.  But  the  reve¬ 
nues  of  the  Church  were  at  the  service  of  the  republic. 
The  Church  was  really  a  national  religious  body,  almost 
independent  of  the  Orthodox  Church.  But  Novgorod 
was  devout,  and  the  city  became  filled  with  sacred  edi¬ 
fices,  owing  to  the  piety  of  her  citizens. 

In  her  palmiest  days  the  sway  of  Novgorod  spread 


80 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


to  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  and  even  to  the  White  Sea.  She 
was  a  recognized  outpost  of  the  Hanseatic  League.  The 
influence  of  the  Muscovites  on  the  south  and  east,  how¬ 
ever,  became  greater  and  greater  as  the  years  passed  by. 
The  states  to  the  west  likewise  became  welded  together, 
and  Novgorod  felt  the  pressure  from  both  sides.  Her 
power  was  weakened  by  constant  internal  dissensions. 
Political  liberty  had  led,  as  is  often  the  case,  to  anarchy. 
Conflicting  commercial  interests  brought  about  divisions. 
Bloodshed  occurred  on  many  occasions  in  the  great  pub¬ 
lic  square.  It  was  the  distrust  of  the  Roman  Catholicism 
of  Poland  that  decided  on  an  appeal  to  Moscow.  The 
day  when  the  Novgorodians  appealed  to  the  tribunal  of 
the  Grand  Prince  of  Moscow  was  fatal  to  the  independ¬ 
ence  of  the  republic.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
ruthless  than  the  action  of  the  Moscow  Princes.  Al¬ 
though  the  republic  was  allowed  to  exist  nominally,  it 
was  in  name  only.  Thousands  of  Novgorodians  were 
forcibly  moved  to  Moscow,  and  Muscovites  established 
in  their  places. 

In  spite  of  this  repression,  however,  the  old  spirit  of 
freedom  was  awakened,  and  Ivan  the  Terrible  deter¬ 
mined  to  apply  physical  extermination.  He  marched  to 
Novgorod  with  a  large  army,  and  devastated  the  coun¬ 
try  everywhere  with  fire  and  sword.  In  vain  did  the 
priests  and  teachers  preach  a  holy  war;  the  people  could 
not  be  enthused  as  formerly,  and  the  defence  was  feeble. 
Pie  put  hundreds  to  death  with  a  ferocity  that  would 
have  become  an  Oriental  despot.  Merchants,  officials 
and  priests  were  alike  flayed  or  tortured,  until  they  pro¬ 
duced  money  for  this  despot.  The  chronicles  claim  that 
no  fewer  than  sixty  thousand  inhabitants  of  the  city 
alone  were  killed.  This  was  in  1570,  and  with  that  year 
closes  the  history  of  Novgorod  as  an  independent  state. 


Great  Russia 


81 


Ivan  himself  is  said  to  have  walked  about  the  city, 
eagerly  watching  his  greedy  soldiers  ransack  the  homes, 
break  open  doors  and  scale  walls  in  search  of  booty. 
Ivan  guaranteed  to  the  Novgorodians  their  persons, 
their  ancient  jurisdiction,  and  exemption  from  Muscovite 
service,  but  the  Vetche  was  abolished  for  ever.  The 
free  city  had  ceased  to  exist. 

To-day  the  ancient  glory  of  Novgorod  has  departed. 
It  is  not  even  a  first-rate  provincial  town,  although  it  is 
still  the  centre  of  government  for  the  province  of  the 
same  name.  Its  former  population  of  three  hundred 
thousand  has  dwindled  to  less  than  one-fourth  that  num¬ 
ber.  Some  of  its  magnificent  churches,  once  within  the 
city,  now  lie  in  deserted  fields  that  are  swamps  part  of 
the  year.  The  Church  of  St.  Sophia  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  church  erected  in  Russia  after  the  introduction 
of  Christianity,  but  it  is  not  what  it  was  formerly.  It 
contains  the  tombs  of  Vladimir  and  Garoslovitch,  and 
has  been  repaired  so  many  times  that  it  is  difficult  to 
distinguish  the  old  from  the  new.  An  extraordinary 
number  of  monasteries  and  convents  are  to  be  seen 
around  Novgorod.  Some  of  them  are  built  so  massively 
that  they  look  almost  like  huge  barracks  or  asylums. 
The  city  of  to-day  is  unattractive,  even  as  Russian  towns 
go,  with  wide  and  poorly  paved  streets.  But  it  is  rich 
in  its  memories  of  the  past,  and  even  in  reminders  of 
pre-Slav  races,  which  antiquarians  have  dug  up  in  the 
neighbourhood. 

Leaving  Moscow  on  the  main  line  to  the  south,  the 
railway  passes  through  a  country  partly  wooded,  but 
mostly  free  from  timber.  The  first  city  of  any  conse¬ 
quence  that  is  passed  in  this  direction  is  Tula.  Founded 
as  early  as  the  twelfth  century,  it  is  not  a  new  town. 
Built  entirely  of  wood  at  first,  Tula  is  now  a  city  of 


82 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


stone,  and  fairly  attractive  for  a  Russian  town.  It  is 
a  city  exceeding  one  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  and 
has  become  a  prosperous  manufacturing  centre.  Peter 
the  Great  established  gunsmiths  here,  and  to-day  it  is 
the  principal  place  for  the  manufacture  of  small  arms  in 
Russia.  Here  are  made  the  samovars,  which  have  be¬ 
come  so  famous.  This  Tula  production  will  be  found 
in  almost  every  Russian  home,  from  the  palaces  of  the 
Czar  to  the  humblest  izba  or  Kirghiz  hut,  and  thousands 
have  found  their  way  to  other  parts  of  Europe  and  far¬ 
away  America.  The  gingerbread  of  Tula  is  also  noted, 
and  few  travellers  pass  through  here  without  obtaining 
a  box  or  two  of  it.  Much  fruit  is  cultivated  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood,  and  in  the  gardens  of  the  city  itself  will  be 
found  thousands  of  fruit  trees.  Especially  is  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  Tula  noted  for  apple  culture,  and  it  supplies 
many  of  the  neighbouring  provinces  with  apples. 

To  foreigners  Tula  is  probably  best  remembered  as 
being  the  stopping  place  for  visitors  bound  to  the  home 
of  the  novelist,  Tolstoi.  His  home  was  situated  about 
ten  miles  from  the  city.  It  is  superfluous  for  me  to 
speak  of  this  remarkable  character,  more  than  to  add 
my  tribute  of  admiration  for  the  man  and  his  ideals. 
He  had  passed  away  before  my  visit,  and  his  children 
do  not  claim  especial  interest.  The  family,  although  of 
German  origin,  has  been  famous  in  Russia  since  the 
time  of  Peter  the  Great,  but  none  have  ever  laid  such 
a  claim  to  immortality  as  the  last  Count  Leo,  the  nov¬ 
elist,  warrior,  statesman  and  humanitarian.  Few  vis¬ 
itors  now  make  the  trip  to  his  home  near  the  village  of 
Yasnaya  Polyana,  for  he  is  buried  at  some  distance  from 
his  estate,  and  this  spot  is  reached  more  easily  from  an¬ 
other  station.  The  actual  visible  influence  of  Tolstoi  on 
Russia  seems  not  to  have  been  great.  He  was  beloved 


Great  Russia 


83 


and  reverenced  by  many,  but  no  party  does  or  has  ever 
claimed  him  as  leader.  The  higher  classes  rejected  him, 
because  of  his  opposition  to  all  established  government; 
the  peasantry  were  repelled  by  his  diatribes  against  re¬ 
ligion;  the  revolutionists  and  anarchists  repudiated  his 
teaching,  because  he  had  no  definite  plan  to  offer.  His 
influence  on  thought  and  opinion  in  Russia  will  not  com¬ 
pare  with  his  influence  in  non-Russian  nations. 

It  is  a  journey  of  seven  or  eight  hours  from  Tula  to 
Kursk,  through  the  choicest  part  of  Great  Russia.  The 
road  traverses  miles  upon  miles  of  level  corn  land,  with 
scarcely  a  tree  in  sight.  It  is  through  what  is  known 
as  the  Black  Earth  region,  and  many  of  the  little  towns 
look  very  prosperous.  This  black  earth,  if  I  may  be 
pardoned  a  repetition,  extends  in  a  broad  belt  across 
Russia,  and  is  even  prolonged  into  Asia.  It  derives  its 
name  from  a  deep  bed  of  black  mould  of  almost  inex¬ 
haustible  fertility,  which  produces  without  fertilizer  the 
richest  harvest.  It  is  larger  in  extent  than  the  whole 
of  France,  and  almost  from  time  immemorial  has  been 
the  granary  of  Eastern  Europe.  Even  Athens  drew 
supplies  from  here  in  the  time  of  her  greatness. 

Orel  is  the  only  city  of  any  importance  on  the  route. 
At  last  the  train  pulls  up  at  an  unimposing  station,  and 
we  are  in  Kursk,  which  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  town 
in  Central  Russia.  It  certainly  does  not  look  prepossess¬ 
ing  around  the  station,  for  the  land  in  all  directions  save 
one  is  as  flat  and  uninteresting  as  it  is  possible  for  land¬ 
scape  to  be.  But  one  is  not  in  the  real  city  yet,  for  it 
is  a  drive  of  three  or  four  versts  to  the  town  on  the  hill, 
where  domes  and  steeples  just  appear  over  the  crest. 
The  little  droshki  bounces  along  from  the  top  of  one 
cobblestone  to  another,  and  then  crosses  a  long  bridge. 
At  the  river  many  women  will  be  seen  at  work  beating 


84 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  rinsing  the  dirt  out  of  the  clothes.  An  experience 
with  the  inhabitants  leads  one  to  believe  that  several 
thousand  more  ought  to  be  down  by  the  river  engaged 
in  the  same  occupation.  A  long  climb  brings  the  trav¬ 
eller  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  Here  there  is  a  red  arch, 
with  the  date  of  1823  on  it.  This  arch  was  erected  in 
honour  of  Alexander  I,  when  he  visited  Kursk  on  his 
way  to  the  Crimea. 

It  is  still  quite  a  drive  down  the  principal  street  to  the 
only  passable  hotel  in  the  city.  Kursk  cannot  be  rec¬ 
ommended  for  its  hotel  accommodations,  but  it  is  a  gen¬ 
uine  Russian  town  with  little  modernization.  Electric 
lights  and  an  electric  street  railway  are  about  the  only 
modern  features  to  be  seen,  although  it  is  a  city  of  more 
than  fifty  thousand  people.  The  display  in  the  stores, 
and  the  appearance  of  the  shop  windows,  would  not  com¬ 
pare  with  an  American  town  of  a  tenth  the  population. 
One  small  American  automobile  looked  lonely  in  its  iso¬ 
lation,  but  it  was  faithfully  doing  duty  as  a  public  taxi¬ 
cab.  Quite  a  number  of  Jews  reside  in  Kursk,  most  of 
them  being  Polish.  All  of  them  are  in  business  or  are 
traders.  A  large  military  garrison  is  maintained,  as  in 
other  parts  of  Russia,  and  the  notes  of  the  bugle  are 
one  of  the  commonest  sounds. 

Kursk  was  well  chosen  originally  for  a  fortress  town, 
because  of  its  commanding  location  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  Tuskora.  To-day  it  is  picturesque,  or  would  be 
if  only  a  little  more  attention  was  devoted  to  the  streets 
and  sanitation.  There  are  several  splendid  churches,  as 
it  is  a  very  religious  town.  It  is  celebrated  as  the  birth¬ 
place  of  Theodosius,  one  of  the  holiest  of  the  Russian 
saints.  He  was  always  noted  for  his  extreme  purity 
of  life  and  his  charity,  and  early  in  life  entered  the 
monastery  in  Kiev,  where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  days. 


Great  Russia 


85 


Most  of  the  churches  in  Kursk  bear  his  name  to¬ 
day. 

I  reached  Kursk  on  a  market-day,  and  the  several 
market-places  were  crowded  with  the  peasants  from  the 
neighbouring  villages.  One  market  was  devoted  to  live 
pork,  another  to  hay  and  straw;  one  to  horses,  and  yet 
another  was  occupied  by  the  city  tradesmen.  It  was  an 
interesting,  even  though  unattractive,  sight.  Each  peas¬ 
ant  was  dressed  in  a  dirty,  many-times-patched  sheep¬ 
skin  coat,  with  the  wool  inside,  which  would  have  been 
uncomfortable  on  that  day  for  any  one  except  a  Russian 
peasant.  Furthermore,  each  coat  is  padded  until  it  is 
two  or  three  times  the  thickness  of  an  ordinary  coat. 
In  the  winter  time  many  of  these  coats  are  so  padded 
that  it  gives  the  wearer  an  unusually  corpulent  appear¬ 
ance.  Buyers  went  around  from  one  group  to  another 
making  offers,  but  no  one  seemed  in  a  hurry  either  to 
buy  or  sell.  I  spent  an  entire  day  among  the  marketers, 
and  the  time  was  not  wasted. 

Another  day  was  a  holiday,  for  it  would  be  impossible 
to  spend  a  week  in  any  town  without  encountering  a 
holiday.  The  peasants  came  to  the  city  by  the  hundreds, 
even  though  the  spring  work  was  just  beginning.  A 
pleasure  ground  was  filled  with  a  number  of  little  side 
shows,  merry-go-rounds,  and  other  places  to  lure  the 
elusive  kopecks  from  the  crowds,  and  all  did  a  rushing 
business  until  a  late  hour  at  night.  It  was  a  good- 
natured  crowd,  as  are  all  Russian  crowds,  and  every  one 
seemed  to  enter  into  the  holiday  spirit.  I  went  into  sev¬ 
eral  of  the  shows,  and  they  were  about  the  crudest  en¬ 
tertainments  that  it  was  ever  my  fortune  to  witness. 
The  lowest  priced  seats  were  simply  an  incline  on  which 
the  people  stood,  but  the  admission  price  was  correspond- 
ingly  cheap. 


86 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

Half  of  the  city  is  made  up  of  thatch-roofed  cottages, 
with  walls  of  logs  or  plaster.  Instead  of  standing  their 
houses  side  by  side  and  separated  only  by  narrow  streets, 
like  the  old  cities  of  Italy,  France  and  Germany,  thus 
forming  a  little  world  by  themselves,  the  Russian  towns 
spread  over  great  spaces.  Kursk  is  built  that  way,  and 
there  are  acres  of  waste  land  between  different  sections 
of  the  city.  The  side  streets  are  unpaved,  with  great 
holes  cut  in  them  that  look  like  hog  wallows.  This  con¬ 
dition  detracted  from  what  might  be  made  an  attractive 
and  picturesque  town.  As  the  day  wore  away  the  farm¬ 
ers  in  their  little  basket-bodied  wagons,  with  the  family 
snugly  packed  inside,  drove  out  the  main  thoroughfares 
in  groups  of  from  two  to  a  dozen.  Some  of  the  men 
were  either  hilarious  or  despondent  from  the  effects  of 
too  much  liquor,  according  to  the  particular  effect  of  the 
vodka  upon  the  individual. 

The  villages  around  Kursk  have  quite  a  different  ap¬ 
pearance  from  those  north  of  Moscow.  The  roofs  are 
very  crudely  thatched  with  straw.  Some  of  them  at  a 
distance  look  almost  like  hay-ricks.  The  house  and  out¬ 
buildings  are  arranged  in  a  group,  and  the  stable  is 
frequently  the  one  on  the  highway,  with  the  dwelling 
in  the  most  inconspicuous  corner.  It  can  only  be  dis¬ 
tinguished  by  the  chimney,  and  oftentimes  this  is  miss¬ 
ing.  Some  do  not  have  the  chimney,  for,  as  they  say, 
the  house  is  warmer  without  one.  The  floor  is  usually 
only  earthen,  and  in  the  extreme  cold  weather  the  calves 
and  young  pigs  are  brought  in  to  share  the  warmth  with 
the  children  of  the  family.  This  plan  may  be  very 
humane,  but  it  certainly  has  its  drawbacks. 

The  danger  of  conflagration  is  certainly  great,  for  if 
a  fire  started  the  whole  group  would  go.  Many  burn 
straw  in  their  stoves,  where  wood  is  scarce  and  expen- 


FARM  -  HOUSE  WITH  OLD  -  FASHIONED  WELL 


Great  Russia 


87 


sive,  and  when  straw  is  wanting  they  dry  the  tall  grass 
that  grows  in  the  waste  places.  The  wells  have  a  de¬ 
cidedly  picturesque,  old-world  appearance.  The  water 
is  raised  by  means  of  a  long  pole  balanced  near  the  cen¬ 
tre.  On  the  outer  end  may  be  a  heavy  stone,  as  a  coun¬ 
terpoise,  or  simply  a  rope  to  pull  it  down.  Public  wells 
with  the  same  crude  appearance  will  oftentimes  be  found 
in  the  villages  all  over  Russia,  from  Poland  to  the  land 
of  the  Don  Cossack.  As  everywhere  else  they  are  meet¬ 
ing  places  for  sentimental  youths  and  scandal  mongers, 
and  all  the  news  of  the  village  is  discussed  here. 

The  peasants  live  chiefly  on  coarse  bread  and  vege¬ 
tables,  as  they  sell  everything  else  they  raise.  They  even 
dispose  of  most  of  their  chickens  and  eggs  to  secure 
ready  money,  instead  of  keeping  them  to  nourish  their 
own  families.  Each  moujik  keeps  a  dog  to  guard  his 
property,  and  nowhere  else  did  I  see  so  many  fierce 
canines.  Each  dog  seems  to  consider  it  his  duty  to  keep 
intruders  outside  his  own  bailiwick.  The  lot  of  these 
peasants  around  Kursk  is  unenviable,  and  they  are  not 
very  prosperous,  unless  outward  appearances  are  deceiv¬ 
ing. 


CHAPTER  V 


LITTLE  RUSSIA 


The  Little  Russians  —  Bright  Costumes  —  The  Steppes  —  The  Ukraine  — 
Villages  —  Windmills  —  Kharkov  —  Marketers  —  Photographing  — 
Poltava  and  Swedish  Defeat  —  Kiev  —  A  Iioly  City  —  St.  Vladimir 
—  St.  Sophia  —  Pilgrimages  —  The  Caves  —  Famous  Monastery  — 
Beggars  —  Western  Ukraine  —  Flax. 

Little  Russia  is  a  favoured  land  as  compared  with 
many  parts  of  Great  Russia.  In  wide  level  spaces,  or 
in  gentle  undulations,  it  stretches  away  until  sky  and 
horizon  meet  in  a  barely  perceptible  line.  Parts  of  it 
remind  one  very  much  of  the  broad  pampas  of  Argen¬ 
tina,  and  other  sections  are  most  like  our  own  western 
prairies.  In  spring  and  summer  it  is  an  ocean  of  ver¬ 
dure,  with  the  varied  shades  of  green  of  the  growing 
vegetation  interspersed  with  flowers  of  many  hues ; 
later,  in  the  autumn,  after  the  crops  are  harvested,  it 
becomes  a  brown  waste  of  stubble  and  burned-up  pas¬ 
tures;  in  winter  it  is  a  white  glistening  expanse  of  snow. 
The  forest  land  has  disappeared,  not  suddenly  but  by 
degrees.  Where  woods  are  found  they  are  thinner  and 
more  scattered.  The  evergreen  of  the  pine  and  the  fir, 
and  the  white  bark  of  the  birch,  have  been  replaced  by 
the  oak,  ash  and  lime  trees.  They  are  not  the  giant 
oaks  of  our  own  northern  woods,  for  they  are  rather 
stunted  and  straggling. 

The  peasants  of  Little  Russia  differ  materially  from 
those  of  Great  Russia.  In  many  ways  can  these  dissem- 

88 


Little  Russia 


89 


blances  with  their  Muscovite  compatriots  of  the  North 
be  traced.  They  speak  a  dialect  which  varies  consid¬ 
erably  from  that  spoken  to  the  north  and  northeast  of 
them.  Their  language  is  said  to  be  nearer  the  old  Sla¬ 
vonic  than  that  of  Great  Russians.  The  people  are  hand¬ 
somer  than  the  Great  Russians.  Better  nourishment 
probably  has  something  to  do  with  this,  or  the  natural 
distinction  between  a  northern  and  southern  people,  but 
the  admixture  with  other  races  has  also  left  its  trace. 
They  are  in  general  taller  and  more  robust.  The  nat¬ 
ural  brightness  and  vivacity  of  the  Slav  temperament, 
which  one  will  also  find  exemplified  in  the  Pole,  has  not 
been  dimmed  by  the  infusion  of  the  more  stolid  and 
melancholic  Finnish  blood.  They  have  a  buoyancy  of 
temperament,  which  leads  to  a  light-hearted  gaiety  of 
spirits,  such  as  one  does  not  find  among  the  Musco¬ 
vites. 

In  so  far  as  outside  influences  have  affected  the  Slav 
temperament  in  Little  Russia,  it  has  been  that  of  the 
Greek  and  the  Tartar.  The  warm  and  bright  colours 
of  their  costumes  are  somewhat  reminiscent  of  the  Ori¬ 
ent.  They  are  great  lovers  of  beads,  of  which  they  will 
wear  many  strings,  and  the  national  costume  of  the 
women  includes  a  wreath  of  flowers  worn  on  the  head. 
A  vein  of  romance  and  poetry  runs  through  the  Little 
Russians.  It  may  not  be  very  deep,  but  it  is  widespread. 
It  is  the  home  of  Russian  folk-lore.  Lyrical  ballad  and 
improvised  ballad  still  spring  almost  spontaneously  from 
the  lips  of  the  peasants.  Their  nature  is  rather  poetical, 
and  they  are  very  musical.  The  love  songs  of  Little 
Russia  are  distinguished  by  their  great  tenderness.  They 
have  songs  for  all  occasions,  sacred  and  profane.  They 
are  great  lovers  of  flowers.  They  are  said  to  be  the 
laziest  of  the  Slavs,  and  are  by  nature  slow  in  movement. 


90 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


They  seem  incapable  of  doing  anything  with  energy  and 
dispatch.  They  look  upon  themselves  as  the  progenitors 
of  the  Russian  race,  and  are  very  proud  of  their  blue 
blood. 

Little  Russia  has  had  a  troublesome  career.  The 
Scythians  helped  to  feed  Greece  and  her  colonies  from 
these  same  steppes.  A  thousand  years  ago  Kiev  was 
already  becoming  an  important  place.  When  the  Saxons 
still  ruled  England,  the  banks  of  the  Dnieper  were  a 
meeting  place  for  many  races,  drawn  thither  by  com¬ 
merce.  Religious  differences  had  not  yet  arisen,  for  all 
were  worshippers  of  idols.  Even  before  the  founding 
of  Novgorod,  a  Slav  people  were  safely  established  here, 
sowing  and  reaping  their  harvests  and  sending  their 
surplus  grain  down  this  river  to  the  Black  Sea.  And 
yet,  with  all  this  antiquity,  most  of  the  cities  of  to-day 
are  comparatively  new.  One  can  visit  town  after  town, 
and  never  see  a  building  more  than  a  hundred  years  old, 
unless  it  is  a  church.  The  towns  were  simply  centres 
for  the  neighbouring  agricultural  districts,  where  the 
peasants  congregated  on  market  days  to  sell  their  prod¬ 
uce  or  buy  stores.  Many  of  them  are  still  nothing 
more  than  overgrown  villages.  They  are  separated  from 
each  other  by  great  distances,  isolated  as  it  were,  and 
the  inhabitants  are  utterly  ignorant  of  what  is  going 
on  elsewhere.  Many  of  them  have  no  newspaper,  un¬ 
less  it  is  a  sort  of  official  gazette. 

Among  the  Russians,  Little  Russia  is  generally  known 
as  the  Ukraine,  which  means  border-marches.  For  cen¬ 
turies  it  was  the  bulwark  that  protected  Poland  and 
Lithuania  from  the  Tartars,  Turks  and  other  Orientals. 
As  a  result  it  has  had  hard  taskmasters.  In  1653  the 
LTkraine  voluntarily  became  subject  to  the  Czar,  and 
two  wars  with  Poland  resulted  from  that  action.  The 


Little  Russia 


91 


“  hetman  ”  was  maintained  for  some  time,  but  this  office 
was  abolished  by  Catherine  II.  The  affairs  of  the  state 
were  sometimes  administered  by  the  office  of  Little  Rus¬ 
sia,  and  sometimes  by  the  office  of  Foreign  Affairs. 
Under  Catherine,  however,  it  became  an  integral  part 
of  the  Empire.  Its  experiences  with  war  and  disaster 
would  long  ago  have  broken  the  spirit  of  a  race  gifted 
with  less  elastic  temperament.  The  Little  Russians  have 
worked  hard  and  fought  hard,  and  have  emerged  a 
united  and  still  vigorous  people.  The  population  in¬ 
creases  more  steadily  than  that  of  Great  Russia,  as  the 
people  are  greatly  attached  to  home  and  do  not  care  to 
wander  far  from  their  native  villages.  Fewer  “  go- 
aways  ”  from  these  provinces  will  be  found  in  the  cities. 

It  is  jiot  long  af-ter  leaving  Kursk  that  Little  Russia 
is  entered,  where  the  lot  of  the  peasant  is  not  quite  so 
hard  as  in  many  parts  of  Great  Russia.  Human  hab¬ 
itations  do  not  cut  much  of  a  figure  in  the  landscape. 
The  peasants  plant  their  villages  in  the  lee  of  some  swell 
in  the  surface,  or  by  the  edge  of  a  stream  in  which  they 
can  water  their  flocks  during  the  droughts  which  may 
come.  The  villages  stretch  down  little  valleys  seemingly 
for  miles,  instead  of  being  built  compact  as  in  most 
countries.  It  makes  a  large  village  oftentime  appear 
rather  as  a  succession  of  small  ones.  The  hill,  and  a 
few  trees  carefully  nourished,  protect  the  home  and  stock 
enclosures  from  the  biting  blasts  of  winter.  The  cot¬ 
tages  become  better,  and  the  dead,  lifeless  look  of  those 
farther  north  improves.  These  little  homes  of  the  peas¬ 
ants  look  quite  spruce  and  tidy.  The  roofs  are  thatched 
better,  and  the  whitewash  of  the  mud  walls  is  actually 
visible.  When  the  sun  shines  the  newly  thatched  roofs 
glow  almost  like  burnished  gold,  while  even  the  old 
thatch  is  brightened  up  by  the  rays  of  that  orb. 


92 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


In  the  neighbourhood  of  the  forests  the  Little  Rus¬ 
sians  build  their  huts  of  wood,  like  the  Great  Russians. 
At  other  places  they  are  not  greatly  unlike  the  quaint 
cottages  of  Ireland.  The  only  conspicuous  feature  will 
be  a  church  or  two,  and  the  many  windmills  on  the 
ridges.  Windmills  are  exceedingly  common,  and  dot 
the  landscape  on  every  hillside.  Some  will  be  still,  while 
others  beat  the  air  that  blows  over  the  steppes  with  their 
broad,  far-reaching  arms.  Silvery-gray  they  appear 
from  age,  as  all  are  built  of  wood  and  are  usually  un¬ 
painted.  Many  of  them  seem  ready  to  fall  to  pieces 
from  age.  The  general  use  of  windmills  is  due  not  so 
much  to  lack  of  water,  for  they  will  be  found  near 
streams,  but  the  flatness  of  the  country  does  not  give 
enough  fall  to  allow  the  use  of  water-power.  They  are 
used  to  grind  grain,  and  the  farmers  may  be  seen  bring¬ 
ing  their  grist  to  them  as  they  did  to  the  old  water-mills 
in  our  own  country.  The  raising  of  bees  is  quite  an 
industry,  and  hundreds  of  queer  tile-shaped  hives  will 
be  seen  surrounding  their  homes.  A  hedge  generally 
encloses  the  cottages,  as  well  as  a  little  flower  garden. 
The  floors  are  of  clay,  with  pieces  of  wood  laid  on  them 
for  beds.  A  great  clay  stove  takes  up  a  quarter  of  the 
space  in  the  living-room. 

Kharkov  is  only  about  five  hours’  ride  by  express  from 
Kursk,  but  it  is  a  night’s  ride  by  ordinary  train.  It  lies 
in  the  same  latitude  as  Paris.  Although  not  so  large  as 
Kiev,  it  is  the  chief  town  of  Little  Russia,  and  one  of 
the  most  important  cities  of  Southern  Russia.  It  has 
not  the  picturesque  location  of  either  Kursk  or  Kiev, 
but  the  environments  of  Kharkov  have  more  charm  than 
either  of  the  other  cities.  Oak  forests  surround  the  city 
on  two  sides,  the  trees  beginning  where  the  cottages 
cease,  but  the  beautiful  birch  has  disappeared. 


A  WINDMILL  ON  THE  STEPPES 


Little  Russia 


93 


Kharkov  is  fairly  old,  and  dates  back  at  least  three 
centuries.  As  an  educational  centre  it  holds  the  first 
place  in  Little  Russia.  The  university  is  noted  through¬ 
out  the  Empire,  and  many  famous  educators  have  been 
connected  with  it  from  time  to  time.  When  it  was  first 
opened,  some  of  the  greatest  teachers  in  Europe  received 
invitations  to  join  its  staff,  and  a  number  of  them  taught 
there  at  various  times.  The  buildings  of  the  university 
are  not  especially  impressive,  nor  does  its  accommoda¬ 
tion  seem  so  large.  And  yet,  I  am  told  that  there  are 
at  least  a  couple  of  thousand  students  taking  instruction 
in  it.  This  university  has  been  one  of  the  storm-cen¬ 
tres  of  Russia,  and  has  been  closed  more  often  than  any 
other  educational  institution.  The  professors  have 
often  been  in  at  least  passive  sympathy  with  the  stu¬ 
dents.  The  large  proportion  of  Jewish  students  has, 
on  more  than  one  occasion,  raised  the  Jewish  question, 
so  that  anti-Semitic  disturbances  have  resulted.  In  addi¬ 
tion  to  this  university  there  is  a  seminary  where  the  sons 
of  priests  are  educated,  several  gymnasiums  where  boys 
and  girls  receive  instruction,  and  a  number  of  institu¬ 
tions  of  lower  grade. 

As  a  commercial  centre  Kharkov  has  always  been  of 
the  greatest  importance.  It  is  at  the  present  day,  next 
to  Rostov-on-Don  and  Odessa,  the  most  important  dis¬ 
tributing  point  south  of  Moscow.  Hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands  of  dollars’  worth  of  agricultural  machinery  are 
distributed  over  the  surrounding  territory  from  Khar¬ 
kov.  American  manufacturers  are  represented  by  branch 
houses.  Many  rich  Jewish  merchants  also  live  here, 
who  buy  the  grain  raised  in  the  vicinity,  and  some  of 
them  have  become  very  wealthy.  Kharkov  is  not  within 
the  Jewish  pale,  but  many  of  these  Jews  have  married 
Orthodox  wives  and  been  baptized  into  the  Orthodox 


94 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


fold.  The  governor  of  the  province,  at  the  time  of  my 
visit,  belonged  to  this  class.  He  headed  a  religious  pro¬ 
cession,  carrying  a  sacred  icon. 

The  market  of  Kharkov  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
in  Russia.  Occupying  a  space  equal  to  several  city 
blocks,  it  is  filled  with  little  booths,  where  everything 
necessary  for  either  the  table  or  home  can  be  purchased. 
Four  important  fairs  are  held  here  each  year,  and  have 
been  for  many  generations.  The  Pokrovsky  fair  lasts 
three  weeks,  and  while  it  is  in  progress  the  city  has  a 
lively  and  animated  appearance.  Since  the  arrival  of 
the  railway  these  fairs  have  declined  in  importance,  as 
they  are  simply  meeting-places  of  business  men ;  but 
the  weekly  markets  have  lost  none  of  their  interest. 
There  is  not  a  better  place  in  the  district  to  study  the 
Little  Russians  than  Kharkov  on  such  occasions. 

Men,  women  and  children  come  to  Kharkov  in  droves. 
The  roads  are  dusty  from  the  constant  succession  of 
wagons  that  are  headed  for  this  market.  Some  convey 
grain,  others  hay  or  straw,  and  still  others  bring  eggs, 
butter,  vegetables  and  fruits,  if  it  is  the  season  for  such 
products.  Those  not  so  fortunate  as  to  have  a  horse 
and  wagon  at  their  disposal  think  nothing  of  tramping 
many  miles  and  carrying  a  load  upon  their  shoulders  as 
well.  The  space  between  the  booths  is  so  crowded  that 
one  can  scarcely  force  his  way  at  times.  Bargaining 
is  going  on  on  every  hand,  and  it  matters  not  how  small 
the  article  purchased,  the  purchase  cannot  be  completed 
without  this  process.  Both  buyer  and  seller  seem  to  be 
satisfied  in  the  end,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  tell  from 
the  expression  which  party  really  has  the  best  of  the 
bargain.  There  is  a  very  noticeable  difference  in  the 
appearance  of  the  people  in  the  market  here  and  at 
Kursk.  They  look  more  robust  and  better  fed,  as  well 


VIEWS  OF  THE  MARKET,  KHARKOV 


Little  Russia 


95 


as  possessing  a  greater  share  of  good  looks.  It  must 
not  be  understood,  however,  that  even  the  Little  Rus¬ 
sians  can  be  taken  as  models  of  physical  beauty. 

In  no  part  of  European  Russia  will  you  see  so  much 
of  national  costume  as  in  Little  Russia.  This  market 
in  Kharkov  is  a  study  in  colour.  Red  is  the  prevailing 
colour  among  the  women,  but  many  other  bright  bits 
will  be  seen.  The  costume  is  extremely  artistic,  too, 
much  more  so  than  one  would  expect  to  find  among  these 
people.  Their  red  turbans  have  embroidered  borders, 
and  their  skirts  also  have  a  border  which  reaches  almost 
to  the  knee.  The  women  generally  wear  their  skirts 
rather  short,  scarcely  reaching  to  the  ankles.  The  waists 
are  made  out  of  pretty  patterns,  with  unique  designs 
worked  into  the  material.  Even  the  heavy  coats,  which 
they  wear  for  warmth,  have  their  own  design,  and  all 
will  be  made  after  practically  the  same  pattern.  The 
men  likewise  have  their  shirts  embroidered  in  red  and 
blue  designs,  and  the  younger  men  have  quite  a  dandi¬ 
fied  look.  Both  sexes  wear  coarse  boots,  many  of  them 
being  made  of  plaited  straw.  This  is  the  original  style 
of  boots,  but  more  now  wear  the  leather.  In  summer 
many  will  come  to  the  city  barefooted,  for,  in  that  way, 
they  save  their  boots,  and  leather  boots  cost  money. 

On  festive  occasions  the  young  women  wear  highly 
coloured  dresses,  and  have  long,  bright  pink,  blue  and 
red  ribbons  tied  to  their  hair,  which  stream  behind  them 
as  they  walk.  Oftentimes  they  wear  garlands  of  real  or 
artificial  flowers.  Several  strings  of  large  and  small 
coral  or  glass  beads  complete  this  pretty  outfit;  and 
many  of  the  maidens,  with  their  gipsy-like  complexions, 
look  very  charming  when  clothed  in  this  manner.  These 
people  have  a  great  love  for  vivid  colours  in  everything, 
and  even  decorate  their  rooms  with  striped  or  checked 


96 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


red  and  white  towels.  The  icon  shelf  is  sure  to  be  dec¬ 
orated  with  these  fancy  towels  and  paper  flowers.  A 
guest  of  honour  would  be  given  a  seat  under  this  little 
domestic  shrine. 

In  the  market  I  had  a  great  deal  of  sport  in  arranging 
groups  to  be  photographed.  The  girls,  and  even  older 
women  who  had  passed  that  stage  in  life,  entered  heart¬ 
ily  into  the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  and  obligingly  per¬ 
mitted  their  photographs  to  be  taken.  The  embarrass¬ 
ment  came  when  each  one  wanted  a  print,  for  which  they 
were  willing  to  pay.  In  the  fields  these  same  girls,  and 
the  older  women,  will  be  found  to  be  the  hardest  work¬ 
ers.  Their  hands  show  that  they  are  accustomed  to 
outdoor  work,  and  their  stride  is  almost  that  of  a 
man. 

It  is  a  night’s  journey  from  Kharkov  to  Kiev,  which 
is  also  in  Little  Russia.  This  route  passes  through  the 
historic  town  of  Poltava,  where  Peter  the  Great,  in  1709,' 
won  a  notable  victory  over  Charles  XII,  after  that  mon¬ 
arch  had  besieged  the  town  for  three  months  and  lost 
more  than  ten  thousand  men.  Charles  had  spent  several 
years  in  wandering  over  Northeastern  Europe,  winning 
and  losing  kingdoms  like  chessmen.  After  enduring 
almost  unheard-of  hardships  with  his  troops,  during  an 
unusually  severe  winter,  he  staked  his  own  fortunes, 
as  well  as  the  welfare  of  his  country,  on  the  issue  of  this 
one  desperate  and  decisive  battle.  Charles  was  far  from 
home,  but  he  had  the  prestige  of  a  great  name  and  the 
devotion  of  his  soldiers.  The  battle  wavered  for  several 
hours  between  the  two  belligerents.  Finally  the  Swedish 
forces  were  cut  in  two,  and  the  battle  became  a  rout. 
Charles  fled  for  his  life,  leaving  his  artillery,  baggage, 
treasury  and  the  bulk  of  his  forces. 

This  victory  of  Peter  at  Poltava  made  a  new  era  in 


LITTLE  RUSSL4N  PEASANTS 


LITTLE  RUSSIAN  GIRLS,  KHARKOV 


Little  Russia 


97 


the  world’s  history.  Russia  became  a  recognized  power 
in  Europe.  The  Muscovites  made  a  triumphal  entry 
upon  the  world’s  stage.  “  Now,”  wrote  Peter,  “  the 
first  stone  of  the  foundation  of  St.  Petersburg  is  laid, 
by  the  help  of  God.” 

Poltava  to-day  is  an  ordinary  Russian  town  of  little 
interest,  and  the  chief  town  of  the  government  of  the 
same  name.  A  striking  monument  has  been  erected 
here  in  commemoration  of  this  victory,  but  there  is  noth¬ 
ing  else  in  the  neighbourhood  to  attract  attention.  The 
vast  plains  swell  in  long,  low  billows  of  grass  and  grain, 
with  only  an  occasional  bit  of  woodland  as  a  diversion 
to  the  monotony. 

Kiev  is  an  important  town  of  Russia,  and  is  easily 
reached  from  Vienna,  Berlin,  Odessa,  or  Moscow.  If 
Novgorod  was  the  cradle  of  modern  Russia,  Kiev  was 
the  cradle  of  Orthodoxy,  and  it  is  still  in  a  sense  the 
religious  centre.  Unlike  Novgorod,  however,  Kiev  is 
a  prosperous  city,  and  not  a  melancholy  wreck  of  its 
former  self.  It  was  also  at  one  time  the  capital  of 
the  Empire.  It  was  long  the  centre  round  which  the 
heirs  of  the  Grand  Princes  fought  for  control,  for  Kiev 
was  considered  the  greatest  prize.  The  approach  to  the 
city  soon  reveals  its  picturesqueness  to  the  traveller,  for 
it  rises  up  above  the  boundless  plains  that  encompass  it. 
The  broad  Dnieper  sweeps  around  the  base  of  the  slope, 
which  is  crowned  with  many  golden  domes  and  crosses 
and  the  battlemented  walls  of  monasteries.  It  is  isolated 
from  the  rest  of  the  principal  Russian  towns,  but  it  is 
one  of  the  oldest.  The  earliest  Russian  history,  the 
chronicles  of  Nestor,  were  written  by  a  monk  of  this 
city.  The  Dnieper  gave  communication  with  the  Black 
Sea,  and  to  this,  as  well  as  its  commanding  location,  its 
growth  and  importance  were  due. 


98 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


To-day  Kiev  is,  as  it  always  has  been,  an  important 
commercial  city.  It  is  both  a  manufacturing  town,  and 
a  distributing  point.  The  chief  street,  called  the  Krest- 
chatik,  is  built  where  once  flowed  a  classic  stream,  ac¬ 
cording  to  tradition.  It  is  said  to  be  this  stream  in  which 
Prince  Vladimir  baptized  his  subjects  into  the  Christian 
faith  by  wholesale,  and  renamed  them  by  hundreds  after 
the  saints  of  the  Greek  calendar.  He  likewise  threw 
into  it  with  disgust  the  idol  Perun,  which  he  had  for¬ 
merly  worshipped,  after  throwing  it  down  from  its  high 
seat,  flogging  and  dragging  it  through  the  streets  of  the 
city,  to  show  his  contempt  for  it.  To  this  idol  they  had 
formerly  been  in  the  habit  of  offering  human  sacrifices. 
Vladimir  was  the  first  Russian  prince  to  embrace  the 
Greek  faith.  The  fact  that  he  did  it  to  marry  the  daugh¬ 
ter  of  the  Roman  emperor,  and  had  no  personal  virtues 
that  historians  have  been  able  to  discover,  has  not  pre¬ 
vented  him  from  becoming  a  good  saint.  The  stream 
dried  up  many  centuries  ago,  although  at  one  time  it  was 
said  to  be  large  enough  to  anchor  ships  in.  It  may 
safely  be  said  that  the  Kievans  had  a  number  of  relapses 
before  they  wholly  gave  up  their  faith  in  the  old  gods. 

The  Krestchatik  is  an  imposing  thoroughfare,  with 
many  fine  modern  buildings.  New  structures  are  con¬ 
tinually  being  erected,  so  that  the  city  looks  much  newer 
than  one  might  expect.  It  has  not  neglected  to  improve 
its  charms  by  means  of  modern  art.  The  old  town  was 
built  on  the  hills,  and  it  was  much  more  picturesque, 
as  well  as  probably  healthier,  than  the  new  town  on  the 
banks  of  the  Dnieper.  Kiev  contains  a  noted  university, 
and  has  a  museum  of  antiquities  which  is  full  of  curi¬ 
osities  that  interest  the  traveller. 

There  still  stands  at  Kiev  the  Cathedral  erected  for 
Vladimir  and  his  successor,  Yaroslav,  by  Greek  artisans 


Little  Russia 


99 


brought  from  Constantinople.  It  is  visited  by  thousands 
from  all  parts  of  Russia,  and  even  other  parts  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  each  year.  It  is  called  St.  Sophia,  and  was  com¬ 
pleted  in  1037.  The  church  has  one  large  dome  and 
fourteen  smaller  domes,  all  gilded  and  terminating 
either  in  crosses  or  sunbursts.  The  domes  of  Southern 
Russia  are  not  so  perfect  as  those  of  Russia  proper.  The 
cupolas  are  sexagonal,  octagonal,  or  have  even  more 
sides.  It  was  built  in  imitation  of  the  famous  mosque 
in  Constantinople  of  the  same  name,  but  is  not  really 
a  large  church.  Incessant  repairs  and  additions  have 
almost  covered  the  original  walls.  The  interior  is  very 
dimly  lighted. 

The  real  attraction  of  St.  Sophia  is  its  mosaics,  which 
are  as  old  as  the  church  itself.  Most  of  these  were 
covered  for  centuries  by  a  coating  of  whitewash  and 
plaster,  until  their  very  existence  was  forgotten.  They 
were  discovered  by  chance,  and  the  work  of  renewing 
the  colouring  was  begun.  The  work  has  been  done  as 
well  as  could  be  expected,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  it  is  equal 
to  the  ancient  glory.  The  subjects  are  not  all  religious 
by  any  means,  but  include  hunting  scenes,  dancing  and 
acrobatic  subjects,  musicians  playing,  and  other  equally 
secular  subjects.  The  principal  interest  in  them  is  in 
the  fact  that  all  figures  are  dressed  in  the  ancient  style. 
This  alone  proves  the  antiquity  of  the  work.  St.  Sophia 
and  the  other  monastic  and  ecclesiastical  institutions  of 
Kiev  suffered  from  vandalism  on  more  than  one  occa¬ 
sion,  and  were  robbed  of  vestments,  images,  relics,  books, 
and  sacred  pictures.  Four  hundred  churches  are  said  to 
have  existed  there  at  one  time. 

Kiev  is  a  holy  city,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
pilgrims  visit  it  each  year.  The  natural  landscape  is 
heightened  at  all  times  in  pictorial  effect  by  the  pictur- 


100  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


esque  groups  of  pilgrims,  staves  in  hands  and  wallets  on 
backs,  who  may  be  seen  clambering  up  the  hill,  resting 
under  the  shadow  of  a  hill,  or  reverently  bowing  the 
head  at  the  sound  of  a  convent  bell.  The  principal  vis¬ 
itations  are  during  May,  June  and  July,  but  peasant 
pilgrims  will  be  found  there  every  month  in  the  year. 

About  the  time  of  St.  Vladimir  a  very  holy  monk, 
named  Anthony,  came  to  Kiev  and  dug  a  cell  for  him¬ 
self  in  the  hill,  or,  as  others  say,  took  possession  of  one 
of  the  underground  dwellings  of  a  former  race.  The 
devout  life  of  this  monk  soon  drew  other  holy  men 
around  him,  and  all  at  first  made  their  homes  in  the 
caves.  It  is  said  that  many  of  the  early  monks  never 
again  emerged  into  daylight  after  they  once  entered  the 
caves.  Here,  in  this  gloomy  underground  world,  where 
day  could  not  be  distinguished  from  night,  their  time 
was  spent  in  continual  fasting  and  prayer.  Some  shut 
themselves  up  in  niches,  and  remained  self-immured  the 
rest  of  their  days,  living  on  the  food  placed  there  each 
day  by  their  brothers.  When  the  food  remained  un¬ 
touched,  the  monks  knew  that  a  saintly  spirit  had  fled. 
The  place  was  then  walled  in,  and  the  niche  remained 
the  monk’s  home  after  as  well  as  before  his  dissolution. 
The  hermit  John  is  said  to  have  spent  the  last  thirty 
years  of  his  life  immured  in  the  earth  up  to  his  arm- 
pits.  Others  followed  almost  unbelievable  methods  of 
self-torture.  These  “  caves  ”  are  among  the  strangest 
memorials  of  ascetic  devotion  to  be  found  anywhere  in 
the  world. 

The  catacombs,  which  are  in  the  Petcharsk  quarter, 
the  high  land,  have  long  since  been  abandoned  as  places 
of  residence,  and  some  of  them  have  even  caved  in. 
They  are  rather  ghastly  to  visit,  for  there  are  rows  upon 
rows  of  skulls  in  them.  Access  is  had  by  narrow  steps, 


Little  Russia 


101 


and  then  through  labyrinthine  subterranean  passages. 
One  descends  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  winding  hither  and  thither  along  a  pathway. 
Finally  there  begins  a  series  of  niches,  in  which  repose 
the  bodies  of  the  saintly  recluses.  Over  each  appears 
the  name,  but  without  date  or  an  explanatory  word  as 
to  his  deeds  or  virtues.  To  many  these  catacombs  are 
very  sacred,  and  a  trip  through  them  is  supposed  to  add 
to  the  holiness  of  the  pilgrim.  The  pilgrims  pass  each 
holy  tomb,  and  reverently  kiss  the  shrivelled  hands  laid 
out  by  the  monks  for  that  purpose.  They  do  not  dis¬ 
tinguish  between  the  holy  and  the  holier,  but  pay  a 
tribute  to  each  one  impartially  in  order  to  conciliate  all. 
Much  contagion  must  be  spread  by  this  unsanitary 
method  of  homage.  No  doubt  many  an  infection,  and 
possibly  even  a  great  pestilence,  could  be  traced  directly 
to  this  spot,  or  others,  where  the  same  indiscriminate 
osculation  of  church  relics  is  observed. 

This  was  the  origin  of  the  name  Cave  Monastery,  or 
Pechersky  Lavra,  which  name  is  given  to  the  famous 
monastic  institution  existing  in  Kiev.  This  is  a  large 
stone  structure  on  the  hill,  at  a  little  distance  from  the 
city,  which  is  surrounded  by  a  high  stone  wall.  It  is 
entered  through  a  Holy  Gate.  Highly  coloured  fres¬ 
coes  of  the  monastery  saints  adorn  the  walls  outside 
this  gate.  Inside  the  court  are  numerous  plain  one  and 
two  storied  buildings,  which  are  the  cells  of  the  monks. 
Each  monk  has  his  own  apartment,  with  a  little  garden 
attached.  Several  hundred  monks  live  in  the  monastery, 
and  a  number  of  lay  brethren  are  also  allowed  to  dwell 
there.  Some  leave  the  monastery  after  a  brief  trial,  but 
most  of  them  remain.  In  the  principal  church  is  pre¬ 
served  a  miracle-working  icon,  known  as  the  Death  of 
Our  Lady.  It  was  brought  from  Constantinople,  and 


102  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


receives  no  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  kisses  each 
year.  It  is  painted  on  cypress  wood  now  black  with 
age.  Every  line  of  the  picture  is  marked  by  precious 
stones,  and  each  head  has  a  halo  of  brilliants,  while  an 
enormous  diamond  glitters  above  the  head  of  Christ. 
A  pilgrim  at  one  time  accidentally  (?)  kissed  this  dia¬ 
mond  away,  and  a  glass  was  then  placed  over  it. 

One  of  the  sources  of  revenue  of  the  Cave  Monastery 
is  the  printing  of  books  and  religious  tracts,  the  lives 
of  saints  and  hermits,  and  the  sale  of  this  religious  lit¬ 
erature  runs  into  large  figures.  Many  millions  of  copies 
are  printed  each  year.  The  baking  of  wafers,  which 
are  sold  to  pilgrims,  also  brings  in  a  large  revenue.  The 
lofty  bell  tower  beside  the  large  church  is  the  tallest 
campanile  in  Russia  with  one  exception,  that  of  the  St. 
Peter-Paul  Church  in  St.  Petersburg.  The  one  in  the 
Kremlin  at  Moscow  only  ranks  sixth. 

The  wealth  of  the  Lavra  at  Kiev  is  enormous,  so  it 
is  claimed  by  those  who  ought  to  know.  Each  Czar 
visits  it  not  infrequently,  and  always  gives  a  large  dona¬ 
tion.  Princes  and  nobles  make  occasional  pilgrimages. 
The  monks  do  not  live  the  ascetic  lives  of  their  ances¬ 
tors,  although  the  food  still  seems  very  plain.  Coarse 
bread  is  always  served,  fish  frequently,  but  meat  and 
wine  are  not  unseldom.  One  monk  always  reads  from 
the  lives  of  saints  while  the  others  eat.  The  monks  seat 
themselves  on  benches,  and  they  eat  off  pewter  platters. 
There  is  an  inn  at  which  many  stop  who  can  pay,  but 
the  fare  is  too  plain  for  most  people.  Then  there  is 
also  a  free  lodging  quarter,  where  the  poorer  ones  can 
stop  without  charge.  Sour  black  bread  and  boiled  buck¬ 
wheat  groats  is  about  the  only  food  provided  for  this 
class  of  pilgrims.  Many  peasants  will  travel  on  foot 
for  days  and  spend  almost  their  last  kopeck,  for  the 


Little  Russia 


103 


sake  of  visiting  this  sacred  monastery  in  the  holy  city 
of  Kiev.  These  pilgrims  may  be  very  pious,  but  they 
are  not  always  cleanly. 

Hundreds  of  beggars  resort  here  also  during  the  pil¬ 
grimage  time.  In  places  they  seem  almost  as  thick  as 
the  pigeons  that  pick  up  crumbs  in  front  of  St.  Mark’s 
in  Venice.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  larger  or  more 
varied  collection  of  professional  or  casual  mendicants 
anywhere.  Dressed  in  rags  and  wretchedness,  these 
mendicants  expose  revolting  sores  and  horrible  deformi¬ 
ties  in  order  to  excite  sympathy.  Some  appear  to  enjoy 
vested  rights  in  particular  locations.  Many  might  be 
classed  as  pious  beggars,  and  have  an  almost  apostolic 
appearance,  with  their  long  beards  and  quiet  bearing. 
All  of  them  may  be  worthy  objects  of  charity,  but  the 
Russian  beggars  are  most  importunate.  In  Moscow  and 
other  cities  it  is  the  same.  One  can  hardly  linger  for  a 
moment  in  any  frequented  section  of  Moscow,  but  that 
a  beggar  will  come  up  and  ask  for  something  “  for  the 
sake  of  the  Mother  of  God.”  The  Russians  themselves 
are  very  charitable  toward  the  unfortunate  class.  Poor 
peasants,  themselves  clothed  in  rags,  will  share  their 
little  with  those  poorer  than  themselves.  A  foreigner, 
knowing  the  poverty  of  the  people  and  the  inadequacy 
of  government  relief,  cannot  help  but  feel  kindly  dis¬ 
posed  toward  those  who  are  really  helpless.  But  there 
is  a  professional  class  of  mendicants  that  are  really  more 
importunate  than  the  real  unfortunates.  It  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  distinguish  between  the  unworthy  and  the 
deserving. 

To  the  west  of  Kiev  are  the  provinces  of  Podolia  and 
Volhynia,  which  are  called  the  Western  Ukraine.  Geo¬ 
graphically,  they  are  part  of  Little  Russia,  for  the  peo¬ 
ple  are  practically  the  same  race.  Their  political  for- 


104  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


tunes  have  generally  been  linked  up  with  either  Poland 
or  Lithuania.  This  comprises  a  part  of  what  is  often 
called  Red  Russia,  and  shares  the  characteristics  of  Ga¬ 
licia,  the  neighbouring  province  of  Austria.  In  fact,  in 
travelling  through  the  country,  were  it  not  for  the  sol¬ 
diers  and  the  passport  regulations,  you  would  not  know 
where  Galicia  ended  and  Podolia  began,  if  there  were  no 
other  reminders  of  that  fact.  The  area  of  these  two 
provinces  is  about  equal  to  Pennsylvania,  and  there  is 
a  population  of  about  four  million.  Much  stock  is  raised 
throughout  these  provinces.  They  are  likewise  within 
the  Jewish  pale,  and  thousands  of  this  race  dwell  within 
them. 

Flax  plays  an  important  part  in  the  agriculture  of 
this  section.  If  flax  is  not  raised  for  market,  a  little 
will  be  cultivated  for  household  use.  From  the  seed 
will  be  made  linseed  oil,  which  forms  an  important  ai  ti¬ 
de  of  food  during  the  fasts  when  nothing  of  animal 
origin,  not  even  butter,  will  be  touched  by  the  peasants. 
Then  the  straw  must  be  prepared  so  that  it  can  be  spun, 
and  this  involves  considerable  skill.  It  is  treated  in  two 
different  ways  to  get  rid  of  the  gummy  substance  that 
holds  the  fibre  together.  It  is  sometimes  laid  out  on 
the  grass  and  watered  occasionally,  while  the  other 
process  is  to  soak  it  in  ponds.  One  will  often  see  peas¬ 
ant  women  and  girls  tramping  the  straw  in  these  ponds 
with  feet  and  legs  bared.  The  stalks  are  then  diied, 
and  gently  broken  with  a  light  stick  shaped  like  a  rolling- 
pin.  It  is  next  combed  to  free  the  fibre  from  all  foreign 
substance,  and  is  then  ready  for  spinning. 


WOMEN  OF  PODOLIA  STAMPING  FI.AX  IN  A  POND 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  COSSACKS 


Borky  —  Treeless  Steppes  —  Nomadic  Life  —  Zaporogians  —  Don  Cos¬ 
sacks  —  A  Revolt  —  Soldiers  for  Life  —  Imperial  Guard  —  The 
Don  —  Novo-Tcherkask  —  Tagenrog  —  Rostov-on-Don. 

Kharkov  was  for  a  long  period  an  important  out¬ 
post  of  the  Cossacks.  It  was  on  the  highroad  of  the 
Tartar  invaders  and  marauders,  whether  they  came  from 
the  Crimea  or  the  shores  of  the  Caspian.  In  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  however,  when  Poland 
ceded  the  province  to  Muscovy,  it  became  the  capital 
of  the  Ukraine.  To-day  we  must  go  farther  south  and 
east  to  find  the  home  of  that  interesting  race. 

Leaving  Kharkov  for  Rostov-on-Don,  the  chief  city 
of  the  Cossacks,  the  scenery  is  very  pretty  for  a  distance, 
when  compared  with  the  greater  part  of  Russia.  It  is 
rich  agricultural  land,  and  the  peasants  seem  quite 
thrifty.  An  hour’s  ride  brings  the  traveller  to  Borky, 
a  spot  made  famous  by  the  seemingly  miraculous  escape 
from  death  of  Alexander  III  in  a  railway  accident,  in 
1888.  The  carriage  in  which  the  Emperor  was  riding 
broke  in  two,  and  his  favourite  dog  was  killed  as  it 
sat  at  his  feet.  No  one  seemed  to  know  what  caused 
the  accident,  although  many  thought  it  the  work  of  rev¬ 
olutionaries.  As  a  precaution  against  future  accidents, 
a  new  cabinet  member  was  named  on  the  following  day 
to  have  charge  of  railroads.  The  thing  that  attracts  the 

m 


106  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


traveller’s  attention  is  the  magnificent  church  and  sta¬ 
tion  in  a  spot  where  there  are  few  houses.  Thousands 
of  people  now  make  pilgrimages  to  Borky,  and  the  Czar 
never  fails  to  stop  and  worship  when  on  his  way  to  and 
from  the  Crimea. 

After  passing  Borky  the  forest  plains  begin  to  merge 
into  the  real  steppe.  Trees  become  scarcer  and  scarcer 
until  they  disappear  altogether.  Nothing  is  to  be  seen 
but  the  tall  brown  grass  where  the  soil  is  uncultivated. 
In  the  olden  days  men  and  flocks  could  hide  themselves 
in  the  natural  vegetation  of  the  steppe.  It  was  the 
chosen  home  of  the  nomad  horsemen,  the  land  of  the 
free  Cossacks.  Underneath  the  surface  layer  of  fertile 
earth  there  is  a  salty  and  chalky  soil,  in  which  the  roots 
of  trees  do  not  thrive.  There  are  some  coal  mines  in 
this  section  of  the  country,  from  which  a  rather  poor 
quality  of  coal  is  mined.  Iron  mines  have  also  been 
developed.  This  same  monotony  of  landscape  continues 
until  Rostov-on-Don  is  reached,  a  journey  of  about  four¬ 
teen  hours  by  the  express  train. 

The  Cossack  life  has  an  element  of  romance  in  it  that 
appeals  in  the  same  way  as  the  free  life  of  our  own 
western  plains.  The  Cossacks  of  Russia,  the  gauchos 
of  the  Pampas,  and  the  cowboys  of  the  plains  are  the 
favourite  rough  riders  of  the  world.  Abroad  the  name 
of  Cossack  is  associated  with  ideas  of  plunder  and  cru¬ 
elty;  at  home  the  same  name,  associated  with  memories 
of  the  unfettered  life  on  the  steppe,  recalls  the  spirit  of 
liberty  and  equality. 

“  Free  as  a  Cossack  ”  is  a  popular  expression,  for  it 
designates  the  man  who  has  never  borne  a  yoke,  either 
foreign  or  domestic.  Although  now  the  features  differ 
from  the  real  Russian  of  to-day,  the  Cossacks  originally 
came  from  the  same  Slav  stock.  It  is  to  the  early  habit 


The  Land  of  the  Cossacks 


107 


of  wandering  that  the  Cossack  life  owed  its  development. 
Whole  villages  used  to  migrate  to  the  valley  of  the  Don, 
where  the  soil  was  rich  and  they  were  comparatively 
free  from  interference.  Here  they  wandered  about,  liv¬ 
ing  a  nomadic  life,  and  raising  great  herds  of  cattle  and 
horses.  Gradually  the  name  of  Kasak  —  a  Tartar  word 
meaning  wanderer  —  was  applied  to  them,  and  the  name 
clings  to-day,  for  the  Russian  pronounces  Cossack  with 
a  strong  accent  on  the  second  syllable.  Here  on  the 
borderland  of  Asia,  with  the  Circassians,  Georgians  and 
Daghestans  for  neighbours,  they  have  become  mingled 
with  this  wild  and  Mohammedan  stock,  and  a  new  race 
has  developed.  Their  numbers  were  constantly  being 
added  to  by  runaway  serfs  and  vagrants  of  all  descrip¬ 
tions  from  other  parts  of  the  Empire.  They  also  formed 
the  habit  of  kidnapping  Tartar  women,  and  thus  was 
introduced  an  admixture  of  Tartar  blood.  They  are 
always  called  Don  Cossacks,  because  of  the  great  river 
that  here  enters  the  Sea  of  Azov.  There  were  originally 
at  least  four  distinct  tribes  of  the  free  Cossacks,  living 
respectively  along  the  Dnieper,  Don,  Volga  and  Ural 
rivers,  and  they  took  their  name  from  these  rivers. 
Those  of  the  Dnieper  were  also  called  the  Zaporogians, 
and  their  government  was  very  republican  in  form. 
Each  year  the  old  officers  laid  down  their  duties  in  the 
presence  of  a  general  assembly;  and  new  ones  were 
selected.  As  any  member  of  the  tribe  could  be  chosen 
for  this  office,  it  permitted  each  one  to  aspire.  They 
had  a  series  of  fortified  camps  along  Southern  Russia, 
from  the  Dnieper  to  the  Sea  of  Azov.  They  carried  on 
an  intermittent  warfare  with  the  Tartars  of  the  Crimea, 
stealing  their  cattle  and  occasionally  sacking  the  unpro¬ 
tected  coast  towns.  When  tired  of  this  they  would 
turn  northward  to  the  Slavonic  population.  They  were 


108  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


the  brigands  and  corsairs  of  Christianity.  The  Cossacks 
of  the  Dnieper,  who  were  at  times  subjects  of  Poland, 
and  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don,  who  were  nominally  sub¬ 
jects  of  Russia,  were  constantly  involving  their  rulers  in 
trouble  with  Turkey  or  the  Khan  of  the  Crimea.  Each 
ruler  was  kept  busy  disavowing  the  acts  of  his  irrespon¬ 
sible  Cossacks.  They  captured  and  sold  thousands  of 
Polish  peasants  as  slaves  to  Crimean  merchants  who, 
in  turn,  sold  them  to  Persians  and  other  Oriental  peo¬ 
ples.  The  other  Cossack  tribes  did  not  have  any  forti¬ 
fied  towns. 

As  a  result  of  the  depredations  of  the  Zaporogians, 
Peter  the  Great  expelled  them  from  the  Ukraine,  but 
they  were  later  recalled  by  Anne  Ivanovna.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  they  had  simply  retreated  to  the  shores  of  the 
Black  Sea.  They  had  established  their  headquarters  near 
the  present  city  of  Nicolaiev.  When  they  were  allowed 
to  return  to  their  old  haunts,  however,  there  had  been 
so  many  changes,  so  many  agriculturalists  had  settled 
on  the  steppes,  and  their  roving  ground  had  been 
ploughed  up,  that  it  was  no  longer  home  to  these  wan¬ 
derers.  The  adding  of  the  Crimea  to  Russian  domains 
also  had  changed  the  old  order  of  affairs.  Catherine  II 
settled  all  this  by  removing  them  to  the  eastern  shores 
of  the  Sea  of  Azov,  where  they  became  amalgamated 
with  the  Don  Cossacks.  Some  thousands  fled  to  the 
territories  of  the  Sultan. 

Catherine,  with  the  reckless  prodigality  characteristic 
of  that  sovereign,  gave  this  tribe  an  immense  tract  of 
land  as  a  reward  for  their  loyalty  during  her  reign.  She 
built  shops,  houses  and  churches  for  them  in  Ekaterino- 
dar,  which  means  “  Catherine’s  Gift.”  This  city  is  now 
a  prosperous  town  of  probably  seventy-five  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  is  the  chief  city  of  the  province  of 


The  Land  of  the  Cossacks  109 


Kuban,  which  adjoins  the  province  of  the  Don  Cossacks 
on  the  south.  It  is  reached  after  a  journey  of  several 
hours  from  Rostov  by  the  railway  running  to  Baku. 

From  the  earliest  developments  of  Cossack  life  the 
Cossacks  have  been  a  nation  of  warriors.  They  are 
Orthodox  in  religion,  and  much  of  their  fighting  has 
been  in  defence  of  what  they  consider  the  true  faith. 
In  the  seventeenth  century  the  Cossacks  fought  the 
Poles,  who  were  then  in  the  height  of  their  power.  They 
ravished  Southern  Poland  as  far  as  Lemberg,  which  is 
now  a  part  of  Austria.  It  was  the  fight  of  the  Orthodox 
against  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  a  great  measure. 
But,  although  loudly  proclaiming  themselves  champions 
of  Greek  Orthodoxy  against  the  Catholicism  of  the 
Poles  and  the  Mohammedanism  of  the  Tartars,  religion 
really  occupied  only  a  secondary  place  in  their  plans. 
Their  great  object  was  the  acquisition  of  booty.  When 
hard  pressed  by  the  Russians  or  Poles,  they  did  not  hesi¬ 
tate  to  appeal  to  the  Tartar  Khans  for  safety. 

For  protection  the  Don  Cossacks  at  last  appealed  to 
Moscow,  as  there  was  a  bond  of  a  qommon  faith,  and, 
for  a  time,  the  alliance  worked  satisfactorily.  To  Russia 
the  Cossacks  served  as  a  rampart  against  the  Asiatic 
barbarians.  The  military  communities  of  the  Cossacks 
proved  invaluable  to  the  Muscovites.  The  frontier  was 
thus  protected  by  a  body  of  men  as  wild  and  nomadic 
as  the  wandering  tribes  that  threatened.  Self  preserva¬ 
tion  and  the  desire  for  booty  kept  them  ever  on  the  alert. 
By  capturing  and  torturing  straggling  Tartars  in  order 
to  extract  information,  they  were  always  able  to  keep 
informed  of  impending  raids.  They  had  a  system  of 
telegraphing  information  by  building  signal  fires.  But 
they  were  also  a  source  of  diplomatic  trouble  and  political 
danger.  They  paid  little  attention  to  orders  issued  by 


110  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


the  Czars  of  Moscow,  and  were  constantly  giving  cause 
for  war  to  the  Sultan  and  Khans. 

When  the  Cossacks  embraced  the  cause  of  the  false 
Dmitri,  who  had  lived  among  them,  and  assisted  in 
placing  the  one-time  monk  on  the  throne  at  Moscow,  the 
reaction  came.  It  is  little  wonder  that  the  Cossacks  took 
this  course,  for  this  warlike  republic  was  filled  with  an 
ignorant  and  superstitious  mass  of  serfs  and  peasants 
who  had  fled  there  from  Russian  soil.  Mingled  with 
these  were  ruined  nobles,  disfrocked  monks  and  military 
deserters.  In  1706  they  revolted  against  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  Czar,  but  not  against  the  Czar  himself,  for 
there  was  always  a  strong  Russian  faction  among  the 
Cossacks.  In  1766,  Emilian  Pougatchev,  a  Cossack  de¬ 
serter,  gave  himself  out  as  Peter  III,  and  asserted  that 
he  had  been  saved  under  the  very  hands  of  the  execu¬ 
tioner.  Displaying  the  banner  of  Holstein  he  rallied  the 
Cossacks  to  his  standard,  and  captured  many  towns  in 
the  region  of  the  Volga.  The  peasants  flocked  to  his 
banner,  for  it  gave  them  a  chance  to  wreak  their  ven¬ 
geance  upon  the  nobles.  He  was  at  last  captured  and 
put  to  death.  But  the  Cossacks  suffered  for  their  impru¬ 
dence.  The  result  was  that  the  land  of  the  Don  Cos¬ 
sacks  became  an  integral  part  of  the  Russian  Empire. 

Under  Catherine  II  the  political  and  civil  rights  of 
the  Cossacks  were  more  clearly  defined.  Most  of  them 
are  “  Old  Believers,”  who  refused  to  follow  the  inno¬ 
vations  of  the  Patriarch  Nikon.  They  strongly  condemn 
the  splendour  and  extravagance  of  the  Russian  Church. 
The  lessening  of  the  severities  against  these  “  Old  Be¬ 
lievers,”  or  Raskolniks,  made  the  Cossacks  more  willing 
to  submit  to  Russian  rule.  All  the  Cossacks  were  de¬ 
prived  of  independence.  Those  of  the  Volga  were  trans¬ 
ferred  to  another  part  of  the  Empire;  those  of  the  Dnie- 


THE  CZAR  AND  A  COSSACK  GUARD 


The  Land  of  the  Cossacks 


ill 


per  were  removed  as  heretofore  mentioned;  but  those 
of  the  Ural  and  Don  were  allowed  to  remain  in  their  old 
homes.  Their  social  organization  has  been  greatly 
changed.  When  universal  military  service  was  intro¬ 
duced  in  1873,  the  Cossacks  were  brought  under  the 
new  law.  But  with  certain  modifications,  their  old  or¬ 
ganization,  rights  and  privileges  were  retained.  They 
were  given  large  tracts  of  land  in  return  for  military 
service.  Each  Cossack  is  technically  a  soldier  for  life, 
and  subject  to  instant  call.  He  must  serve  twenty  years, 
of  which  three  are  spent  in  preparatory  training,  twelve 
in  the  active  army,  and  five  in  the  reserve.  This  gives 
an  active  army  of  Cossacks  alone  equal  to  almost  a  third 
of  a  million  of  men. 

The  finest  body  of  Cossack  soldiers  is  the  Imperial 
Guard,  which  surrounds  the  Czar.  Their  costume  is 
adapted  from  that  worn  by  the  Circassians.  Dressed  in 
their  long  black  or  purple  coats  belted  in  at  the  waist, 
with  high  woollen  cap  and  a  fierce  dagger  in  the  belt, 
they  look  impressive  and  every  inch  the  soldier.  It  is 
surprising  what  a  change  this  uniform  makes  in  the 
appearance  of  the  man.  At  a  hotel  in  Kharkov  the  door 
porter  was  dressed  in  this  same  uniform,  and  he  looked 
as  ungentle  and  warlike  as  one  of  the  Imperial  Guard. 
When  off  duty,  and  in  ordinary  clothes,  he  was  as  meek 
a  looking  fellow  as  one  could  find.  The  members  of  the 
Imperial  Guard  have  proven  themselves  good  fighters, 
and  absolutely  loyal  to  their  sovereign.  The  Emperor 
trusts  them  when  he  will  repose  confidence  in  no  others. 

The  Cossacks,  according  to  their  agreement,  must  pro¬ 
vide  their  own  horses  and  uniforms,  their  own  equipage, 
and  everything  except  arms.  They  receive  no  compen¬ 
sation  from  the  government,  but  those  in  service  are  paid 
by  the  village  communes.  A  certain  number  are  always 


112  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


kept  in  the  army.  The  only  exception  to  the  call  to  arms 
is  a  bread-winner,  a  father  who  already  has  sons  in  the 
army,  a  priest  or  teacher,  and  one  out  of  four  broth¬ 
ers  in  a  family.  A  rich  Cossack  summoned  to  service 
has  the  privilege  of  sending  a  substitute,  if  he  so  de¬ 
sires.  The  beautiful  black  horses  ridden  by  the  Cos¬ 
sack  soldiers  are  not  raised  by  themselves,  but  come  from 
the  province  of  Tambov,  about  half-way  between  Mos¬ 
cow  and  Rostov-on-Don. 

One  will  find  these  Cossacks  in  every  part  of  the  Em¬ 
pire,  from  Austria  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  from 
Archangel  to  the  Caucasus.  In  the  outlying  provinces 
their  services  are  invaluable  to  Russia.  Several  regi¬ 
ments  are  at  all  times  stationed  in  Poland  in  order  to 
assist  in  holding  that  race  in  check.  In  Warsaw  I  could 
see  the  signs  of  hatred  as  a  Cossack  cavalry  regiment, 
with  its  spears  in  hand  and  lashes  attached  to  the  saddle, 
marched  haughtily  along  the  principal  street.  They  are 
capable  of  enduring  great  fatigue  and  much  privation, 
and  also  can  adapt  themselves  readily  to  local  conditions. 
The  whip  which  they  carry  is  most  dreaded  by  mobs 
when  Cossack  cavalry  make  a  charge.  They  strike  mer¬ 
cilessly  with  it  at  whomsoever  stands  within  reach.  The 
Cossack  believes  himself  to  be  the  best  soldier  on  earth 
—  regardless  of  what  military  authorities  of  other  coun¬ 
tries  say  of  him.  Plis  skill  and  cleverness  on  horse¬ 
back  is  well  known  and  universally  admired. 

The  Don  is  a  river  more  than  six  hundred  miles  in 
length.  Geographers  class  the  Don  as  one  of  the  great 
rivers  of  Europe.  To  this  rank  its  length  and  breadth 
entitle  it.  The  depth  of  the  water,  however,  is  ridicu¬ 
lously  out  of  proportion  to  its  length  and  breadth.  Nav¬ 
igation  is  difficult,  because  of  its  shallowness  and  the 
sand  banks  that  are  continually  shifting.  On  account 


The  Land  of  the  Cossacks 


113 


of  this  steamers  frequently  run  aground.  There  are 
generally  on  board  a  number  of  passengers,  who  are 
given  free  passage  in  anticipation  of  such  an  emergency. 
They  jump  overboard  and  haul  her  off  with  a  long 
hawser.  These  incidents,  and  those  provided  by  other 
surplus  passengers  of  the  human  pest  kind,  serve  to 
break  the  monotony  of  a  trip  on  the  shallow  Don. 

The  scenery  along  the  Don  is  generally  monotonous. 
The  steamer  winds  and  twists  slowly  and  laboriously 
around.  The  captain  swears  at  the  raftsmen  who  are 
slow  in  getting  out  of  the  way.  But  the  picturesque 
Cossack  of  romance  is  not  visible  here.  One  must  see 
him  nearer  the  Czar  himself.  To-day  the  Cossacks  that 
may  be  observed  are  mending  their  nets  or  working  in 
the  fields.  These  are  the  descendants  of  the  bold  bucca¬ 
neers  who  used  to  sail  over  the  Black  Sea,  or  the  ma¬ 
rauders  who,  at  one  time,  scoured  the  steppes  for  hun¬ 
dreds  of  miles  north  and  west.  The  valley  on  both  sides 
is  a  famous  wheat  field  for  a  hundred  miles  or  more, 
and  produces  great  crops  of  grain. 

Originally  the  Don  Cossacks  were  forbidden  to  farm 
under  pain  of  death.  This  may  have  been  done  to  pre¬ 
serve  a  martial  spirit,  or  for  other  economic  reasons. 
Practical  necessity,  however,  gradually  overcame  this 
sentiment.  As  population  increased,,  and  the  opportunity 
for  plunder  grew  less,  patches  of  cultivated  land  began 
to  appear  near  the  villages  without  protest.  At  first, 
each  simply  cultivated  as  much  as  he  saw  fit,  and  re¬ 
tained  this  land  as  long  as  he  chose.  But  this  custom 
could  not  always  continue.  Quarrels  began  to  appear 
among  rival  farmers,  and  the  villages  gradually  evolved 
the  present  system  of  communal  holdings  with  a  fresh 
allotment  at  regular  intervals.  The  old  spirit  of  fair¬ 
ness  and  equality  toward  each  other  was  still  strong  and 


114  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


generally  prevailed.  They  are  to-day  simply  a  com¬ 
munity  of  agriculturalists. 

The  Don  Cossacks  are  more  enterprising  farmers  than 
the  peasants  of  other  parts  of  Russia.  One  reason  un¬ 
doubtedly  is  that  their  holdings  are  in  larger  tracts,  which 
gives  them  better  opportunity  to  develop  them.  They 
buy  great  quantities  of  the  latest  agricultural  machinery, 
and  are  fast  bringing  their  land  up  to  greater  efficiency. 
Since  the  government  has  passed  new  land  laws,  and 
established  a  string  of  land  banks  in  order  to  loan  money 
to  farmers  who  desire  to  purchase  land,  the  Cossacks  are 
taking  advantage  of  their  opportunity  more  than  any 
other  agricultural  class  of  Russia.  Some  of  the  Cossack 
villages  are  very  wealthy  in  land  and  cattle,  as  standards 
go  in  Russia,  and  the  members  are  quite  independent. 
Every  Cossack  is  a  landowner  as  soon  as  he  is  born. 
Everything  is  held  in  common  ownership.  Even  the 
fisheries  in  the  river,  and  the  timber  that  may  be  found 
on  the  mountain  slopes,  are  communal  property.  Each 
man  has  only  his  individual  harvest.  If  he  saves  this 
he  may  eventually  be  wealthy.  But  many  are  spend¬ 
thrifts.  They  know  that,  whatever  happens,  they  will 
be  taken  care  of  by  the  tribe,  and  thus  one  great  incen¬ 
tive  to  prudence  and  economy  is  gone. 

The  capital  of  the  Province  of  the  Don  Cossacks  is 
Novo-Tcherkask,  on  a  site  which  commands  a  wide  view 
of  the  valley  of  the  Don.  The  headquarters  of  the 
tribes  were  removed  here  in  1804  from  the  older  town 
of  Tcherkask,  because  the  latter  was  built  on  an  island 
that  was  subject  to  overflow.  The  ataman,  or  “  hetman  ” 
of  the  Cossacks,  used  to  reside  here,  but  this  official,  who 
formerly  had  semi-independent  power,  has  been  replaced 
by  the  civil  and  military  officials  of  the  Russians.  The 
new  capital  is  a  city  exceeding  fifty  thousand  people, 


The  Land  of  the  Cossacks 


115 


and  its  architecture  is  quite  modern  —  much  different 
from  what  one  would  expect  who  has  only  seen  the 
rough-riding  Cossacks  in  circuses.  It  is  not  an  ideal 
place  of  residence,  however,  because  it  is  too  parched 
and  dusty  and  subject  to  very  violent  changes  of  tem¬ 
perature.  One  of  the  chief  ornaments  is  a  bronze  monu¬ 
ment  to  the  famous  Ataman  Platov,  the  leader  of  the 
Cossacks  from  1770  to  1816.  It  is  usual  to  confer  this 
honorary  title  upon  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne. 

Near  the  mouth  of  the  Don  is  the  city  of  Tagenrog, 
founded  by  Peter  the  Great  in  1706.  It  is  one  of  a 
half  dozen  ports  on  the  Sea  of  Azov.  It  has  no  special 
interest,  except  that  it  is  the  shipping  port  of  the  chief 
city  of  the  Don  Cossacks,  Rostov-on-Don,  so  named  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  older  Rostov  near  Moscow,  which 
is  generally  known  as  Rostov  the  Great.  Rostov  is  now 
a  large  city  approaching  two  hundred  thousand,  and  the 
greater  part  of  it  is  new.  Its  growth  has  been  due  to 
the  increased  commerce  following  the  improvement  of 
agriculture.  The  Don  is  used  to  bring  most  of  the  grain 
from  the  upper  villages  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  but  the 
water  is  too  shallow  for  large  vessels  to  get  up  to  Rostov. 
The  grain  is  taken  in  barges  to  Tagenrog,  from  which 
port  it  reaches  the  Black  Sea.  Rostov  is  one  of  the  great 
grain  ports  of  the  world.  It  is  likewise  an  important 
railroad  centre,  as  all  the  railroad  traffic  to  and  from  the 
Caucasus  and  the  Caspian  oil  fields  passes  through  Ros¬ 
tov.  The  fisheries  are  also  very  important,  for  sturgeon 
and  other  members  of  the  finny  tribe  are  plentiful.  A 
large  number  of  American,  English  and  German  manu¬ 
facturers  of  agricultural  machinery  have  branches  in 
Rostov,  and  there  is  considerable  rivalry  among  them 
in  soliciting  business  from  the  head  men  of  the  various 
villages.  The  Americans  have  the  lead  in  harvesting 


116  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


machinery,  but  do  not  fare  so  well  in  some  other 
lines. 

Rostov  is  not  especially  interesting  to  a  tourist,  but 
it  is  a  city  of  wide  streets  and  good  business  blocks. 
There  are  some  splendid  churches,  attractive  parks  and 
beautiful  homes.  In  every  way  it  has  an  air  of  pros¬ 
perity  that  is  not  usually  characteristic  of  the  Russian 
town.  The  city  is  built  on  a  high  bank  above  the  river, 
up  which  the  horses  can  only  draw  small  loads  by  zig¬ 
zagging  back  and  forth  across  the  street.  But  there  is 
little  of  the  old  or  historic  about  it.  In  the  morning  the 
life  about  the  markets  of  Rostov  is  interesting,  for  hun¬ 
dreds  of  village  Cossacks  come  down  the  river  in  sail¬ 
boats  with  their  fruits,  vegetables  or  dairy  products. 
Many  men  with  the  big  woollen  caps,  characteristic  of 
the  Cossack  costume,  may  be  seen.  The  women  invari¬ 
ably  have  a  sort  of  yoke  thrown  across  the  shoulders, 
at  each  end  of  which  is  suspended  a  basket  filled  with 
their  market  produce.  When  the  contents  are  sold  they 
hasten  to  the  dock,  and  as  soon  as  a  boat  is  filled  the 
sails  are  hoisted  and  the  boat  is  started  up  the  river. 

These  boat  loads  of  marketers  are  a  picturesque  sight 

* 

when  the  sails  are  hoisted  and  they  float  out  into  the 
broad  Don.  The  women  laugh  and  talk  —  as  women 
do  the  world  over  —  and  seem  to  enjoy  the  trip  to  the 
town,  with  its  change  and  a  chance  to  purchase  a  little 
finery.  The  Cossack  girls  in  particular  seemed  to  be 
much  more  vivacious  and  full  of  life  than  either  the 
Great  or  Little  Russians. 


COSSACKS  AT  ROSTOV 


ON  THE  DON 


CHAPTER  VII 


AROUND  THE  BLACK  SEA 


Medley  of  Passengers  —  The  Argonauts  —  Black  Sea  —  Steamers  — 
Batoum  —  The  Caucasus  —  Georgians  and  Armenians  —  Tiflis  — 
Baku  —  Petroleum  —  Dariel  Pass  —  Novorossisk  —  Kertch  —  Theo¬ 
dosia  —  Kherson  —  Nicolaiev  —  Odessa  —  Due  de  Richelieu  —  High 
Life  —  Jews  —  Hotbed  of  Anarchy. 

A  voyage  on  the  Black  Sea  is  never  void  of  interest. 
The  passengers  are  a  perfect  medley,  and  one  will  hear 
more  tongues  than  caused  such  a  confusion  at  the  Tower 
of  Babel.  As  many  as  thirty  different  races  and  tribes 
are  not  an  unusual  list.  Russians,  Cossacks,  Armenians, 
Arabs,  Turks,  Tartars,  Ciscassians,  Georgians,  Greeks, 
Jews,  Syrians,  Wallachs,  Turkomans,  Kurds,  Lazis,  and 
Persians  of  many  classes  will  be  among  those  represented. 
Most  of  these  will  be  in  the  third  class,  where  they  oc¬ 
cupy  the  open  deck  and  make  themselves  as  comfortable 
as  possible  with  their  bundles  of  rugs,  blankets,  and  pil¬ 
lows.  The  Russians  bring  in  their  own  bread  and  sau¬ 
sages  and  teapot,  for  which  the  steward  furnishes  hot 
water,  and  one  or  more  can  be  seen  eating  at  any  time. 
They  afford  a  continuous  performance  of  life  and  colour 
with  their  odd  ways  and  artistic  poses.  Many  of  these 
voyagers  are  clothed  in  more  or  less  brilliant  colours. 

During  one  trip  on  the  Black  Sea,  a  Turk,  with  his 
family,  formed  the  most  interesting  group  of  all.  With 
his  numerous  rugs  he  partitioned  off  a  section  of  the 
deck  as  his  private  domain.  The  wife,  with  face  veiled 
and  body  enveloped  in  a  large  shawl,  concealed  herself 

117 


118  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


from  public  gaze  by  raising  an  umbrella.  She  scarcely 
moved,  except  when  the  hunger  of  her  lord  or  children 
called  for  action.  Then  she  would  dig  down  in  a  bag 
and  produce  something  to  satisfy  their  hunger.  The 
three  little  children  were  clothed  in  brightly-coloured 
garments.  The  oldest  one  was  not  over  eight,  but  a 
better  behaved  lot  of  children  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find.  Not  once  did  one  of  them  cry.  The  father  busied 
himself  in  looking  after  the  brood,  and  he  was  an  ideal 
family  man.  The  Mohammedan  passengers  ate  by  them¬ 
selves,  as  they  fear  that  lard  or  some  other  extract  of 
the  despised  pig  may  find  itself  into  the  Christian  food. 
Some  of  them  performed  their  prayers  at  the  appointed 
time,  and  many  others  did  not.  Another  passenger  was 
a  Russian  priest  with  a  patriarchal  beard  and  clothed  in 
long  robes.  He  was  constantly  smoking  cigarettes,  and 
a  cigarette  does  not  fit  in  well  with  such  a  garb.  There 
was  one  young  Russian  captain  who  was  proud  of  his 
fine  figure,  and  delighted  to  walk  the  deck  with  sword 
clanking  at  every  step.  I  soon  began  to  look  upon  him 
as  a  personal  body-guard,  as  he  followed  my  route  for 
more  than  a  week. 

In  coasting  around  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  one 
is  travelling  through  a  land  of  romance  and  myth.  Here 
were  the  playgrounds  of  gods  and  demi-gods.  The  im¬ 
agination  of  the  Greeks  peopled  this  whole  region  with 
supernatural  beings,  who  were  the  heroes  of  their  fables 
and  songs.  Especially  is  this  true  of  the  southern  coast. 
There  is  scarcely  a  port  on  that  shore  which  is  not  the 
scene  of  some  mythological  fable.  The  modern  town 
of  Eregli  occupies  the  site  of  the  famous  Heraclea, 
founded  by  Hercules.  There  is  a  cavern  near  Eregli, 
through  which  that  famous  hero  is  supposed  to  have 
entered  the  infernal  regions  to  encounter  Cerberus.  The 


RUSSIAN  PRIEST 


Around  the  Black  Sea 


119 


goddess  Diana  was  accustomed  to  hunt  deer  and  other 
animals  on  these  same  shores. 

The  most  noted  of  all  the  mythological  incidents  con¬ 
nected  with  the  Black  Sea  was  the  voyage  of  the  Argo¬ 
nauts.  These  early  adventurers  sailed  its  waters  in  search 
of  the  golden  fleece,  which  was  suspended  from  an  oak 
tree  in  a  grove,  and  guarded  both  day  and  night  by  a 
ferocious  dragon.  Jason  sailed  in  the  Argo,  a  ship  of 
fifty  oars,  built  under  the  instructions  of  the  goddess 
Minerva.  Hence  arose  the  name  of  Argonauts  for  those 
on  board.  Hercules,  Theseus,  Castor  and  Pollux,  and 
other  mythical  heroes  accompanied  Jason.  The  expedi¬ 
tion  met  with  many  surprising  adventures.  Colchis 
promised  to  give  up  the  fleece,  providing  that  Jason 
would  yoke  together  two  fire-breathing  oxen,  and  per¬ 
form  some  other  “  stunts.”  He  did  them  all,  secured 
a  beautiful  wife  and  returned  home  safely.  It  is  needless 
to  recount  the  story  in  full,  but  it  shows  that  the  Black 
Sea  was  famous  in  ancient  times  as  well  as  to-day. 

The  Black,  or  Euxine,  Sea  is  of  goodly  size,  being 
seven  hundred  miles  long  at  its  greatest  length  and  three 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  at  its  widest  breadth.  The  sea 
has  no  tide,  but  strong  currents  are  produced  by  the 
influx  of  several  great  rivers.  In  ancient  times  it  was 
an  important  highway  of  commerce,  just  as  it  is  to-day. 
Greek  colonists  ventured  forth  and  settled  in  many  places 
along  both  its  southern  and  northern  shores,  and  it  is 
this  fact  that  gives  to  these  places  their  historic  interest. 
The  first  colonies  were  sent  out  as  early  as  twelve  or 
thirteen  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era.  Most 
of  these  colonies  were  located  on  carefully  selected  sites, 
which  can  still  be  identified.  To-day  four  countries  touch 
its  borders  —  Roumania,  Bulgaria,  Turkey  and  Russia. 
It  has  been  for  centuries  an  almost  constant  fighting 


120  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ground  between  the  Cross  and  the  Crescent.  Its  shores 
are  one  of  the  fertile  regions  of  the  world.  The  entrance 
is  through  the  Dardanelles  and  Bosphorus.  The  beau¬ 
ties  of  the  latter  have  been  described  many  times,  and 
are  recognized  by  all  travellers. 

There  are  steamers  which  cross  the  Black  Sea  from 
the  Bosphorus  to  Batoum  along  both  the  southern  and 
northern  shores,  sailing  under  the  Greek,  German,  Aus- 
tian,  French  and  Russian  flags.  In  going  from  one  Rus¬ 
sian  port  to  another,  it  is  necessary  to  take  a  vessel  fly¬ 
ing  that  flag.  There  are  two  lines  of  steamers  operating 
between  Odessa  and  Batoum,  and  the  trip  can  be  made 
very  comfortably.  It  is  the  northern  route  in  which  we 
are  interested,  because  that  is  Russian  territory.  These 
shores  are  a  splendid  heritage  for  the  Empire.  They 
include  vast  grain-producing  areas,  the  grape  district  of 
the  Crimea  and  Bessarabia,  iron  mines,  coal  beds  and 
the  Caucasus,  rich  in  every  kind  of  metal  and  petroleum. 
It  is  a  voyage  of  from  four  to  five  days  between  Batoum 
and  Odessa.  The  boats  stop  at  ten  or  a  dozen  ports  on 
the  way.  The  stops  usually  average  two  or  three  hours, 
but  that  is  sufficient  time  to  see  most  that  is  interesting 
in  the  smaller  places,  while  the  Crimea  should  not  be 
passed  without  a  visit  of  a  few  days  at  least. 

Batoum  has  one  of  the  best  harbours  on  the  Black 
Sea,  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  ports  as  well. 
The  reason  is  that  it  is  the  principal  outlet  for  the  Cau¬ 
casus  district,  and  the  petroleum  output  of  the  Baku  field 
on  the  Caspian  Sea.  It  is  said  that  more  petroleum  is 
shipped  from  Batoum  than  any  other  seaport  in  the 
world,  and  there  is  a  pipe  line  connecting  it  with  Baku. 
Batoum  was  a  Turkish  town  until  1878,  so  that  it  is  but 
natural  that  the  older  section  has  the  same  characteristics 
as  a  hundred  cities  that  might  be  found  within  the  Turk- 


Around  the  Black  Sea 


121 


ish  Empire.  All  the  Turkish  clans  are  represented,  — 
some  ten  thousand  having  remained  behind,  —  and  it  has 
bazaars,  cafes,  mosques,  and  khans,  where  travellers  find 
accommodation  for  themselves  and  baggage.  There  are 
also  Armenians,  Georgians,  Circassians,  and  a  colony  of 
several  thousand  Greeks.  The  swarthy  Oriental  faces, 
as  well  as  the  dirt  and  general  untidiness,  lend  additional 
colour  to  the  Turkish  atmosphere. 

Batoum  is  situated  on  a  magnificent  bay,  surrounded 
by  an  amphitheatre  of  hills  which  are  covered  with  rich 
vegetation.  The  mountains  are  often  imbued  with  tints 
of  purple,  blue  and  pink.  From  the  ship  the  town  seems 
like  a  cluster  of  white  and  brown  houses,  alternating 
with  masses  of  tropical  plants.  The  new  town  is  dis¬ 
tinctly  Russian,  with  wide  streets  and  shade  trees  every¬ 
where.  There  are  a  couple  of  attractive  parks,  and  a 
promenade  along  the  shore.  This  boulevard  is  really  a 
thing  of  beauty,  flanked  as  it  is  by  acacias,  palms,  bananas 
and  other  tropical  plants,  as  well  as  trees  from  the  more 
temperate  climes.  One  who  countenances  only  the  blond 
type  of  beauty  would  not  get  much  satisfaction  in  watch¬ 
ing  the  dark  types  of  womanhood  who  parade  here  every 
day. 

The  climate  of  Batoum  is  warmer  than  the  Crimea, 
and  the  shores  are  covered  with  foliage  in  midwinter 
almost  as  much  as  in  July  and  August.  It  used  to  be 
very  unhealthy,  but  the  government  has  done  much  in 
the  way  of  bettering  the  sanitary  conditions.  Russian 
officers  and  the  common  soldiers  in  their  faaniliar  uni¬ 
forms  are  about  the  only  signs  of  Russia,  with  the 
exception  of  a  cathedral  and  the  little  droshkis.  But 
these  are  the  symbols  of  the  two  greatest  forces  in  Rus¬ 
sia  —  the  church  with  the  priests  in  its  shadow,  and  the 
soldiers  with  bayonets  always  fixed.  The  climate  is  semi- 


122  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


tropical,  and  is  a  grateful  change  from  the  rigorous  cli¬ 
mate  of  older  Russia.  Although  Batoum  is  an  old  town, 
dating  back  almost  a  thousand  years  of  authentic  history, 
its  growth  has  been  greatest  since  Russian  occupation, 
during  which  time  it  has  increased  a  thousand  percent. 
This  would  make  it  compare  with  some  of  our  own  so- 
called  mushroom  cities.  The  marvellous  development  of 
the  petroleum  industry  has  been  the  cause  of  this  phe¬ 
nomenal  growth. 

Of  all  the  border-lands  of  the  Black  Sea,  or  the  Rus¬ 
sian  Empire  as  well,  none  exceeds  in  interest  the  region 
known  as  the  Caucasus.  Its  giant  mountains,  its  mag¬ 
nificent  scenery,  its  rich  and  varied  vegetation,  its  ex¬ 
traordinary  collection  of  different  races  —  fifty  or  sixty, 
it  is  said  —  speaking  scores  of  languages,  and  repre¬ 
senting  almost  every  branch  of  the  human  family,  make 
it  a  wonderland  of  romance.  It  is  a  broad  isthmus, 
extending  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Caspian,  and  divides 
Europe  from  Asia  by  a  great  barrier  of  ice,  snow  and 
rock.  From  the  earliest  beginnings  of  authentic  history 
this  region  has  been  the  prey  of  wars,  revolutions  and 
brigandage  —  all  of  which  have  retarded  its  develop¬ 
ment.  It  has  been  the  pathway  of  countless  migrations 
of  people  for  two  thousand  years,  and  each  excursive 
tribe  has  left  behind  at  least  a  fragment.  There  is  one 
mountain  in  the  province  of  Daghestan,  so  it  is  said,  on 
the  slopes  of  which  are  seven  villages,  each  of  which 
speaks  a  different  language.  The  two  nationalities  now 
in  the  ascendency  are  the  Georgians  and  Armenians. 
The  former  numbers  almost  two  millions,  and  the  latter 
a  little  over  a  million.  The  Georgians  are  subdivided 
into  numerous  smaller  branches.  Both  Georgians  and 
Armenians  are  Christian.  There  is  also  a  large  Moham¬ 
medan  population,  made  up  of  Tartars,  Turks  and  Kurds. 


Around  the  Black  Sea 


123 


Among  these  people  religion  is  even  a  stronger  tie  than 
that  of  race  or  nationality. 

Russian  conquest  in  the  Caucasus  began  with  Peter 
the  Great,  who  seized  the  ports  of  Derbend  and  Baku 
on  the  Caspian.  Georgia  held  out  for  a  long  time  as 
an  independent  state,  but  finally  yielded  to  Russian  su¬ 
zerainty  in  1800,  with  her  own  nominal  ruler.  A  half 
century  later  this  nominal  independence  was  abolished. 
Batoum  and  a  part  of  Armenia  were  the  latest  acquisi¬ 
tions.  At  present  the  Caucasus  forms  a  viceroyalty 
divided  into  twelve  governments  and  five  military  terri¬ 
tories.  After  a  century  of  Russian  rule  it  is  far  from 
being  Russified,  and  the  different  races  have  kept  up 
their  own  language  and  customs. 

The  Caucasus  Mountains  are  the  conventional  dividing 
line  between  Europe  and  Asia.  Batoum  is  on  the  Asiatic 
side  of  this  boundary.  A  railway  runs  across  the  Cau¬ 
casus  from  Batoum  to  Baku,  on  the  Caspian  Sea,  a  dis¬ 
tance  of  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight  miles.  The  track 
passes  through  the  ancient  state  of  Georgia,  and  follows 
the  foothills  of  the  mountains  with  snow-capped  peaks 
frequently  in  sight  from  the  car  windows.  The  highest 
point  reached  by  the  railway  is  three  thousand  feet,  but 
Mt.  Elburz,  the  loftiest  peak,  is  over  eighteen  thousand 
feet  in  elevation.  This  is  the  mountain  on  which  the 
Greeks  believed  Prometheus  was  chained  to  a  rock,  while 
his  body  was  consumed  by  vultures.  Long  trains  of 
tank-cars  stand  on  the  track  at  every  station,  either  loaded 
with  oil  for  Batoum  or  with  empties  going  back  to  Baku. 
There  is  an  omnipresent  odour  of  petroleum,  for  the 
locomotives  burn  that  kind  of  fuel,  and  the  tracks  are 
black  the  entire  distance  from  leakage.  This  has  one 
advantage,  that  it  keeps  down  the  dust,  which  would 
otherwise  prove  annoying. 


124  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


A  little  over  half  the  way  across  this  railway  is  Tiflis, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  cities  in  the  world.  Situated 
in  what  is  said  to  be  the  cradle  of  the  human  race,  it  is 
to-day  a  human  melting-pot.  It  was  founded  fifteen 
hundred  years  ago,  and  has  been  captured  and  pillaged 
many  times.  Although  this  district  gave  its  name  to  the 
Caucasian  race,  it  is  not  even  the  predominant  one  now, 
for  the  Mongolian  type  is  probably  more  numerous 
to-day.  A  half  hundred  languages  or  dialects  are  said  to 
be  spoken  on  the  streets  of  Tiflis.  It  is  doubtful  if  any¬ 
where  else  in  the  world  can  be  found  so  great  a  variety 
of  languages  and  religions  huddled  together  in  so  small 
a  compass.  There  are  Georgians,  Armenians,  Circas¬ 
sians,  Tartars,  Persians,  Turks,  Russians,  Kurds,  Kir¬ 
ghiz,  Daghestans,  Cossacks,  Greeks,  Germans,  French, 
English,  and  many  others.  Fantastic  costumes  may  be 
seen  on  the  streets  at  any  time. 

Some  of  the  Georgians  are  regular  dandies,  with  pure 
white  coat,  and  cap  of  white  lamb’s  wool.  Many  have 
the  coat  adorned  with  gold  braid,  if  their  wealth  permits 
it.  They  wear  a  long  dagger  with  an  ivory  handle  and 
an  ivory  sheath,  and  oftentimes  a  revolver  to  match. 
The  Georgians  usually  wear  the  long  tcherkeska,  which 
is  a  sort  of  frock-coat,  tight  at  the  waist  and  adorned 
on  the  breast  with  cartridge  pockets,  and  a  dagger  in 
their  belt.  This  dagger  is  always  in  front,  and  not  at 
the  side.  Many  of  them  are  very  intelligent  and  well 
educated,  while  the  percentage  of  illiteracy  is  far  below 
that  of  other  parts  of  Russia,  Finland  alone  excepted. 
The  Georgians  are  famous  for  their  silver  work,  in  which 
they  show  great  skill.  This  generally  takes  the  form  of 
belts,  daggers,  buttons,  and  saddle  ornaments.  There 
are  more  “  nobles  ”  among  this  people  than  any  other 
in  the  world.  They  literally  swarm  over  the  country. 


Around  the  Black  Sea 


125 


Some  of  them  are  ragged  and  dirty,  and  do  not  even 
hesitate  to  beg  or  do  the  most  menial  service  for  a  small 
fee. 

Tiflis  is  picturesquely  located,  and  is  disjoined  by  the 
river  Kur,  a  swift  and  muddy  mountain  stream.  On  a 
high  ridge  overlooking  the  city  are  the  picturesque  ruins 
of  an  old  Persian  fortress,  behind  which  are  the  lower 
spurs  of  the  Caucasus.  In  clear  weather  some  of  the 
highest  peaks  are  distinctly  visible.  There  are  always 
crowds  of  people  rushing  about,  as  only  Orientals  do,  in 
one  apparently  inextricable  confusion.  Each  nationality 
seems  to  have  its  own  section.  The  Russian  is  probably 
the  cleanest  and  most  attractive,  while  the  Persian  is  the 
dirtiest  and  most  interesting  to  a  Westerner.  Here  mud 
houses  of  one  or  two  stories  line  a  maze  of  narrow, 
crooked  streets.  On  either  side  are  little,  closet-like 
shops,  not  more  than  six  or  eight  feet  square,  set  back 
in  the  walls  without  any  ventilation.  Here  the  dealer 
squats  on  a  piece  of  matting,  with  his  wares  hung  or 
stowed  around  within  easy  reach  of  himself  or  his  as¬ 
sistants.  Each  line  of  business,  after  Persian  fashion, 
has  its  own  street  or  covered  arcade.  One  whole  street 
is  given  up  to  the  barbers,  for  Persians  shave  their  heads 
instead  of  their  faces.  The  butchers  have  a  street  to 
themselves,  as  well  as  the  bakers  and  silversmiths.  A 
peculiar  feature  is  the  wine-shops,  where  wine  is  kept  in 
huge  sheep  or  buffalo  skins.  One  may  occasionally  see 
a  donkey  laden  with  what  looks  like  two  fat  animals  with 
short  legs  sticking  up  in  the  most  absurd  way.  They 
are  skins  filled  with  wine. 

The  Armenians  are  the  big  dealers,  bankers  and  money 
lenders.  A  walk  through  the  business  section  soon  shows 
that  most  of  the  names  over  the  chief  shops  are  Arme¬ 
nian.  The  best  lawyers,  doctors  and  journalists  are  Ar- 


126  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


menians.  A  love  of  education  is  one  of  the  most  striking 
characteristics  of  these  people,  and  all  classes  show  a 
great  anxiety  to  learn  and  have  their  children  educated. 
There  is  no  fear  of  Jewish  competition.  The  Armenians 
have  the  same  reputation  for  shrewd  business  dealing. 
They  have  a  saying  among  the  foreigners  in  Russia  that 
it  takes  a  half  dozen  Jews  to  beat  one  Armenian,  and 
many  firms  in  the  Jewish  Pale  employ  an  Armenian  clerk 
for  that  purpose.  The  Tartars,  Turks  and  Persians  dis¬ 
like  the  Armenians,  for  the  latter  are  Christians. 

The  administration  of  the  Caucasus  is  purely  military, 
and  it  is  only  by  the  presence  of  many  thousands  of  sol¬ 
diers  that  these  diverse  nationalities  are  held  in  check. 
These  were  conquered  provinces,  and  the  people  are  Rus¬ 
sian  subjects  by  compulsion  and  not  through  choice.  The 
Armenians  became  especially  revolutionary  when  a  large 
part  of  their  church  property  was  taken  from  them  by 
an  Imperial  decree  in  1903.  Although  least  numerous 
the  Russian  element  is  probably  the  most  influential  in 
modern  life.  The  very  fact  that  they  are  the  rulers  is 
bound  to  affect  the  aspect  and  life  of  the  town.  All  pub¬ 
lic  business  is  carried  on  in  the  Russian  language.  The 
largest  buildings  in  Tiflis  are  barracks,  and  soldiers  may 
be  seen  everywhere.  The  Governor-General  lives  in  a 
luxurious  palace  containing  seventy  rooms,  many  of 
which  are  truly  palatial  both  in  size  and  furniture.  His 
position  in  the  Caucasus,  a  district  as  large  as  France, 
is  one  of  great  influence. 

Baku  is  extremely  desolate  in  appearance.  In  every 
sense,  however,  it  is  a  unique  city.  Like  all  towns  in 
this  part  of  the  world  its  population  is  a  conglomerate 
mass.  In  1905  there  were  serious  race  riots  between  the 
Armenians  and  Tartars,  in  which  several  hundred  were 
killed.  A  large  part  of  the  city  and  the  refining  works 


Around  the  Black  Sea 


127 


were  burned  in  these,  disturbances  and  the  labour  strikes. 
The  country  around  is  the  very  abomination  of  desola¬ 
tion,  treeless  and  grassless.  There  are  hundreds  of  oil 
wells,  and  the  petroleum  production  is  enormous.  The 
growth  of  this  industry  has  made  Baku  one  of  the  chief 
industrial  centres  of  Russia.  But  its  development  has 
been  chiefly  due  to  foreigners.  Most  prominent  of  all 
have  been  the  Nobel  brothers. 

From  Tiflis  the  Russian  government  has  constructed 
a  broad  highway  through  the  Dariel  Pass  to  the  other 
side  of  the  Caucasus  Mountains.  It  crosses  this  grand 
divide  between  Europe  and  Asia  at  an  altitude  of  nearly 
eight  thousand  feet.  The  northern  terminus  is  at  Vladi- 
kaufkaz.  The  road  is  a  military  road,  but  is  crossed  daily 
by  an  automobile  omnibus.  The  distance  is  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  miles,  and  is  covered  in  one  day.  It  was 
built  purely  for  military  purposes,  so  that  troops  might 
be  hurried  across  into  this  turbulous  section  whenever 
needed.  This  road  is  fortified  from  end  to  end,  and  there 
are  half  a  dozen  garrisons  stationed  at  different  points. 
There  are  few  rides  in  the  world  grander  or  more  savage 
than  the  gorges  and  mountain  peaks  of  this  Dariel  Pass. 
Any  tourist  visiting  this  section  should  not  fail  to  make 
the  journey.  At  Vladikavkaz  connection  is  made  with 
the  Rostov-Baku  railway.  This  name  means  “  the  mas¬ 
ter  of  the  Caucasus.” 

From  Batoum  to  Novorossisk  the  steamer  is  always  in 
sight  of  land,  and  there  are  several  stops.  It  is  a  mar¬ 
vellous  coast,  grander  and  more  beautiful  than  the  Cri¬ 
mea.  Range  upon  range  of  mountains  rises  up  from  the 
water’s  edge,  clothed  with  rich  tropical  vegetation  and, 
in  places,  magnificent  forests.  On  a  clear  day  glimpses 
may  be  had  of  some  snow-clad  peaks  of  the  western  spurs 
of  the  Caucasus  through  the  masses  of  cloud.  The  coast 


128  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

line  is  fertile,  but  not  nearly  all  cultivated  as  yet.  The 
ports  are  all  small  and  unimportant  until  Novorossisk 
is  reached. 

Novorossisk  is  one  of  the  important  ports  of  the  Black 
Sea.  It  is  a  picturesque  little  town,  in  a  deep  and  well- 
sheltered  inlet  surrounded  by  high  hills.  There  are  really 
two  towns,  the  old  one  and  the  new.  The  latter  is  gen¬ 
erally  known  as  Standart,  because  the  oil  works  there 
are  owned  by  a  French  company  of  that  name.  There 
are  several  breakwaters  and  moles  to  aid  the  shipping. 
It  is  not  an  attractive  town,  for  many  of  the  houses  are 
very  sordid  in  appearance,  and  is  not  much  different  in 
appearance  from  Turkish  towns.  It  is  in  the  Caucasus, 
all  of  which  is  really  a  part  of  Asiatic  Russia,  although 
geographers  usually  make  the  Caucasus  Mountains  the 
continental  boundary.  The  Asiatic  types  are  very  com¬ 
mon  here.  The  most  noticeable  landmark  is  a  huge  grain 
elevator,  said  to  be  the  second  largest  in  the  whole  world. 
Novorossisk  has  many  natural  advantages,  and  should 
continue  to  grow.  As  the  Sea  of  Azov  is  frozen  over 
at  least  a  third  of  the  year,  Novorossisk  is  then  the  prin¬ 
cipal  outlet  for  Rostov-on-Don  and  that  entire  district. 
Hundreds  of  vessels  call  there  each  year.  There  is  one 
serious  obstacle  to  the  port,  however,  and  that  is  the  ex¬ 
tremely  high  winds,  which  oftentimes  make  it  impossible 
for  vessels  to  call  there  at  all.  Novorossisk  has  rail  con¬ 
nection  with  the  Rostov-Baku  line  through  Ekaterinadar, 
of  which  mention  is  made  elsewhere. 

Leaving  Novorossisk  the  steamer  sails  up  the  narrow 
channel  that  leads  into  the  Sea  of  Azov  to  the  port  of 
Ivertch,  which  is  the  most  easterly  part  of  the  Crimea. 
This  strait  was  called  by  early  geographers  the  “  Cim¬ 
merian  Bosphorus  ”  —  the  word  bosphorus  literally  mean¬ 
ing  the  “  passage  of  an  ox.”  The  water  is  always  shal- 


TYPES  AT  NOVOROSSISK 


Around  the  Black  Sea  129 


low,  so  that  there  is  usually  considerable  delay  in  un¬ 
loading.  Kertch  is  always  full  of  life,  for  it  also  has 
rail  connection  with  the  interior.  It  is  built  on  the  side 
of  a  hill,  which  is  still  called  the  Hill  of  Mithridates. 
It  is  a  great  fishing  place,  and  is  noted  for  its  herring. 
When  a  Greek  colony,  some  of  its  coins  bore  the  emblem 
of  a  fish. 

On  the  very  spot  where  Kertch  now  stands,  stood  the 
one-time  capital  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Bosphorus,  called 
Panticapaerim,  after  the  god  Pan.  Coins  bearing  the 
effigy  of  this  divinity  have  been  dug  up  in  the  vicinity. 
This  Greek  colony  was  established  in  either  the  fifth  or 
sixth  century  b.  e.  Greek  culture  at  one  time  was  very 
high  in  Panticapaerim,  but  it  had  declined  even  before 
independence  was  lost.  Although  the  French  and  Eng¬ 
lish  carried  off  many  of  the  treasures  of  antiquity  that 
were  unearthed  here,  there  are  still  many  things  to  be 
found  in  the  local  museum  that  are  of  great  interest. 
Extensive  catacombs,  similar  to  those  built  by  the  early 
Christians  at  Rome,  have  been  discovered  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  of  Kertch.  From  these  have  been  taken  many 
rich  ornaments  of  gold  and  silver,  quaint  arms  and  uten¬ 
sils  of  fine  workmanship,  most  of  which  have  been  re¬ 
moved  to  the  Hermitage  in  St.  Petersburg.  One  tomb 
has  its  walls  covered  with  verses  from  the  Psalms,  and 
on  the  ceiling  is  a  prayer  to  the  Almighty.  Others 
have  representations  of  combats,  hunting  scenes,  court 
ceremonies  and  other  activities  of  life.  From  this  one 
would  judge  that  some  of  the  tombs  were  the  last  rest¬ 
ing-place  of  Christians,  and  others  of  pagans.  Many 
legends  are  told  here  of  the  wealth  of  Mithridates  when 
he  lived. 

Only  a  few  hours  sail  from  Kertch  is  Theodosia,  or 
Feodosia,  as  it  is  sometimes  written.  This  is  also  an 


130  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ancient  town,  with  which  Pliny  and  Ptolemy  were  famil¬ 
iar  under  the  name  of  Kaffa.  Theodosia  is  not  a  large 
town,  but  it  is  growing  in  importance,  as  the  government 
has  spent  several  million  roubles  in  improving  the  har¬ 
bour.  Theodosia  means  “  the  Gift  of  God,”  and  was 
probably  so  named  because  of  its  favourable  site.  It  has 
a  picturesque  location,  and  the  streets  are  fairly  clean 
and  attractive.  It  has  become  quite  a  health  resort,  as 
the  sea-bathing  is  good,  and  there  are  mud  baths  as  well 
as  establishments  for  the  kumys  and  grape  cure.  At  one 
time  Theodosia  was  the  chief  emporium  for  Indian  goods. 
Later  it  passed  through  all  the  changes  of  sovereignty 
that  the  rest  of  the  Crimea  experienced.  For  a  period 
under  the  Turkish  rule  it  was  an  important  slave  market, 
the  specialty  being  Armenian  girls  noted  for  their  beauty. 
For  fifty  years  after  Russian  occupation  the  town  lay 
in  partial  ruins,  but  since  it  has  railroad  communi¬ 
cation  the  city  has  had  a  steady  even  if  not  rapid 
growth. 

As  we  leave  the  Crimea  we  depart  from  the  land  of 
the  old.  We  will  not  find  venerable  churches  or  monu¬ 
ments  of  ancient  culture.  The  only  historical  relics  are 
found  in  the  tumuli  of  the  ancient  Scythians.  Civiliza¬ 
tion,  or  at  least  development,  along  these  shores  is  not 
much  more  than  a  century  old.  All  of  this  coast  bears 
the  imprint  of  Catherine  the  Great  and  her  favourite, 
Prince  Potemkin.  Catherine  made  a  journey  through 
these  regions  in  extraordinary  state  and  splendour,  or¬ 
ganizing  provinces,  founding  new  towns,  and  receiving 
the  homage  of  the  people. 

Kherson,  one  of  the  oldest  towns  of  this  district,  was 
a  youth  of  only  eight  summers  at  that  time.  But  already 
there  were  many  artisans  there,  and  a  cathedral  had  been 
constructed  of  stone.  To-day  Kherson  has  a  population 


Around  the  Black  Sea 


131 


of  about  one  hundred  thousand.  It  is  situated  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Dnieper,  and  is  quite  prosperous.  Its  early 
growth  was  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  home  of 
Potemkin,  to  whom  the  conquest  of  this  country  was  due. 
At  his  death,  in  1791,  Catherine  built  a  cathedral  over 
his  grave,  where  his  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  a  splen¬ 
did  marble  mausoleum.  Her  son  and  successor,  Paul  I, 
who  delighted  in  overturning  and  disgracing  everything 
his  mother  ever  did  or  honoured,  had  the  body  removed 
and  buried  in  an  obscure  corner.  At  a  later  date,  how¬ 
ever,  Nicholas  1  had  the  remains  restored  to  the  altar 
and  a  monument  erected  in  his  honour,  upon  which  are 
inscriptions  setting  forth  his  principal  achievements.  In 
this  cathedral  is  a  painting  representing  Catherine  being 
borne  to  paradise  on  the  back  of  the  double-headed  eagle 
of  Russia.  John  Howard,  the  great  English  philanthro¬ 
pist,  is  also  buried  here.  He  died  here  on  a  visit  to  his 
large  business  interests.  A  monument,  a  square  and  sim¬ 
ple  pyramid,  standing  in  the  midst  of  a  bare  plain,  marks 
his  resting-place. 

Nicolaiev,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Bug,  has  long 
been  looked  upon  as  the  rival  of  Odessa.  It  is  situated 
some  twenty  miles  up  the  river  from  the  open  sea.  Nico¬ 
laiev  is  laid  out  on  a  generous  scale  with  broad  streets, 
some  of  which  are  three  miles  long,  and  large  blocks  of 
one-story  houses.  It  has  had  Imperial  patronage,  so 
that  fine  schoolhouses  have  been  built  and  many  modem 
improvements  put  in.  Even  under  such  high  favour, 
Nivolaiev  has  not  been  able  to  wrest  from  her  larger  rival 
the  business  that  has  been  so  firmly  established,  and  in 
the  past  few  years  it  has  not  been  especially  prosperous. 
It  has  the  natural  advantage  of  a  good  site  overlooking 
the  confluence  of  the  Bug  and  Jugal. 

Odessa  is  the  most  European  of  the  large  cities  in 


132  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

Russia.  It  is  likewise  one  of  the  youngest  of  European 
cities.  While  Moscow  can  boast  of  almost  a  thousand 
years  of  history,  Odessa  is  only  a  little  over  a  hundred 
years  of  age.  And  yet,  although  so  new,  there  is  a  cer¬ 
tain  distinction  and  stateliness  about  it  that  gives  Odessa 
a  prominent  place  among  the  cities  of  Europe.  Its  rapid 
growth  will  compare  with  the  cities  of  the  New  World. 
It  was  in  the  time  of  Catherine  II,  shortly  after  her  war 
of  conquest  with  the  Turk,  that  this  city  was  founded. 
The  title  to  this  territory  was  conveyed  to  Russia  by  the 
Treaty  of  Jassy  in  1791,  and  the  rescript  for  the  building 
of  this  city  was  announced  in  1794.  There  was  then 
nothing  more  than  a  little  cluster  of  hovels,  and  the  small 
Turkish  fort  and  settlement  of  Hdji  Bey  on  this  spot. 
On  the  27th  of  August  of  that  year  the  laying  out  of 
the  site  was  completed,  and  that  day  is  still  celebrated 
as  an  annual  holiday  in  the  city.  Plans  were  drawn  for 
extensive  harbours  and  storehouses,  and  the  city  has 
grown  rapidly  from  that  day  to  this,  until  to-day  Odessa 
houses  more  than  half  a  million  people,  and  is  the  fourth 
city  in  the  Empire. 

The  early  Imperial  encouragement  to  Odessa  was  due 
to  the  desire  to  establish  a  strong  city  just  as  near  to 
Constantinople  as  possible.  On  the  finest  square  in 
Odessa  is  a  magnificent  statue  of  Catherine.  The  figure 
of  the  Empress  in  her  Imperial  mantle  is  striking,  and 
she  is  represented  as  trampling  the  Turkish  flag  scorn¬ 
fully  beneath  her  feet. 

At  first  Odessa  did  not  grow  rapidly,  even  under  such 
favourable  auspices.  The  people  hesitated  to  settle  there 
for  fear  of  an  invasion  by  the  Turks.  Furthermore,  in 
those  days  before  modern  means  of  communication  were 
established,  it  was  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  country. 
Its  location  is  on  about  as  dreary  a  steppe  as  can  be 


Around  the  Black  Sea 


133 


imagined.  The  first  inhabitants  were  generally  peasants 
who  had  escaped  from  serfdom.  Later  came  a  few 
tradespeople;  and  then  the  Jews,  after  which  commercial 
prosperity  followed.  At  the  present  time  there  are  no 
fewer  than  two  hundred  thousand  Jews,  according  to  the 
best  authority,  constituting  almost  forty  percent  of  the 
total  number  of  inhabitants. 

Odessa  owes  much  to  the  Due  de  Richelieu,  a  refugee 
from  the  French  revolution,  for  with  him  Odessa’s  pros¬ 
perity  began.  He  was  named  by  Alexander  I  as  the  first 
governor,  and  a  better  choice  could  not  have  been  made. 
He  was  given  almost  absolute  power,  but  used  it  all  for 
the  good  of  the  infant  city.  The  building  of  churches, 
barracks  and  public  buildings  went  on  rapidly  under  his 
administration.  A  postal  system  was  organized,  and 
scientific  and  industrial  schools  established.  In  a  word, 
he  promoted  everything  that  tended  to  develop  the  city 
intellectually  and  commercially. 

Odessa  was  made  the  administration  centre  of  these 
new  provinces.  Foreigners  were  attracted  hither  by  the 
flattering  commercial  prospects.  To-day  this  foreign 
element,  German,  Greek,  French  and  Italian,  and  the 
Jews,  constitute  by  far  the  greatest  percentage  of  the 
population.  There  is  an  Anglo-American  club  in  the 
city,  which  is  rather  more  Anglo  than  American.  It  is 
a  “  comfortable  retreat  of  superior  insularity.”  For  one 
thing,  our  English  cousins  have  introduced  football,  and 
the  young  Russians  are  giving  the  English  a  hard  scram¬ 
ble  for  supremacy.  They  seem  to  have  taken  a  great 
liking  for  the  sport.  The  latest  addition  to  the  foreign 
colony  has  been  a  few  Americans  with  reapers  and 
ploughs,  and  steam  or  gasoline  traction-engines,  and  the 
world-conquering  automobile. 

There  is  nothing  Russian  about  Odessa,  except  a  few 


134  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  the  churches,  and  a  person  suddenly  landed  there 
would  be  surprised  when  informed  that  he  was  actually 
in  that  country.  Mark  Twain  said  that  the  only  thing 
about  Odessa  that  was  truly  Russian  was  the  shape  of 
the  droshkis  and  the  dress  of  the  drivers.  These  latter 
individuals  are  afflicted  with  the  same  characteristic  of 
elephantiasis  as  their  prototypes  in  other  parts  of  Rus¬ 
sia.  Mark  might  have  added  the  uniforms  of  the  sol¬ 
diers  in  his  statement,  for  they  also  abound.  The  suc¬ 
cessor  of  Richelieu,  Count  Woronzov,  took  up  the  work 
where  his  predecessor  left  off.  Under  him  the  university 
was  established,  and  the  library,  museum  and  municipal 
opera  house  were  erected.  The  good  start  made  by 
Odessa  was  due  in  great  part  to  the  fortunate  selection 
of  her  early  governors,  whose  work  was  permanent  and 
has  lasted  even  to  the  present  day.  The  city  has  not  been 
ungrateful  to  these  early  administrators,  as  monuments 
have  been  erected  by  the  citizens  to  both  these  men  who 
did  so  much  for  the  city. 

Odessa  is  a  fine  city  in  many  ways.  Its  inhabitants 
liken  it  to  Paris  and  Vienna.  The  streets  are  very  broad, 
and  well,  but  roughly  paved.  Most  of  them  are  shaded 
with  double  columns  of  trees.  Facing  the  sea,  and  begin¬ 
ning  at  the  Duma,  or  City  Hall,  is  a  broad  promenade 
known  as  the  Nikolaiefsky  Boulevard.  It  runs  along  a 
high  bluff  that  overlooks  the  bay.  There  are  several 
rows  of  trees,  so  that  it  is  well  shaded  even  during  the 
heat  of  the  midday  sun  of  midsummer.  A  statue  of 
Due  de  Richelieu  ornaments  the  promenade,  with  his 
hand  outstretched  toward  the  sea.  Below  the  promenade 
are  the  docks  and  switching  grounds  of  the  railroads. 
Leading  to  the  latter  is  a  broad  stairway  of  stone,  erected 
three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  and  which  is  still  the 
pride  of  the  city.  A  continual  stream  of  human  beings 


Around  the  Black  Sea 


135 


surges  up  and  down  these  broad  steps  throughout  the 
entire  day  and  night. 

There  is  a  regular  program  of  life  at  Odessa.  Daribas 
Street  is  the  rendezvous  of  all  the  world  that  goes  on 
foot  during  the  day.  Three  or  four  blocks  form  the  cen¬ 
tre  of  life.  During  the  morning  hour  the  ladies  stroll 
there  for  an  airing  and  incidentally  do  a  little  shopping. 
Matrons  with  their  marriageable  daughters,  and  daugh¬ 
ters  without  their  mammas,  stroll  back  and  forth,  while 
poor  students,  in  their  tattered  uniforms,  watch  with 
envious  eyes  this  phase  of  life  in  which  they  have  no 
part.  This  is  a  sort  of  diminutive  merry-go-round,  with 
two  streams  of  people  passing  each  other  in  different 
directions.  But  if  military  uniform  meets  uniform  — • 
watch  the  change.  The  right  arm  touches  the  vizored 
cap,  and  is  held  stiffly  until  they  have  passed.  At  times 
this  action  is  repeated  every  few  yards.  In  the  afternoon 
many  go  to  Robinat’s  or  Fanconi’s  for  afternoon  tea,  and 
some  of  the  excellent  pastries  for  which  Odessa  is  noted. 
In  the  evening  thousands  of  people  gather  on  the  boule¬ 
vard,  and  spend  the  twilight  in  walking  to  and  fro,  gos¬ 
siping,  and  even  a  liberal  amount  of  flirting.  Then  many 
of  them  adjourn  to  the  moving-picture  show,  for  the 
opera  house  is  not  open  during  the  summer  season. 

Life  in  Odessa  is  anything  but  slow,  and  it  has  a  live¬ 
lier  phase  than  that  just  described.  It  has  the  reputation 
of  being  a  very  fast  city,  and  is  not  noted  for  its  morality. 
The  young  Russians  there  seem  to  be  given  to  all  sorts 
of  gambling  and  dissipation.  At  night  the  streets  are 
brilliantly  lighted,  and  are  crowded  with  promenaders  of 
both  sexes.  Young  girls  just  entering  their  ’teens  are 
conspicuous  by  their  boldness  of  action,  for  there  is  no 
age  protection  in  Russia.  The  same  conditions  will  be 
seen  in  St.  Petersburg  on  the  Nevski.  There  are  many 


136  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

cafes  along  the  streets  with  tables  on  the  sidewalks,  as 
well  as  in  the  parks,  and  they  are  sure  to  be  crowded. 
The  air  is  filled  with  music  and  laughter,  and  the  seekers 
after  pleasure  turn  night  into  day.  Real  life  does  not 
begin  m  the  cafes  chantants  until  midnight,  and  becomes 
gayer  and  gayer  until  about  three  in  the  morning. 

The  business  section  of  Odessa  is  attractive,  and  is 
noted  for  its  splendid  architecture.  The  stores  are  bright 
and  attractive,  and  appeal  to  the  shopper.  Goods  from 
all  quarters  of  the  world  can  here  be  purchased,  even 
if  the  price  is  high.  It  is  one  of  the  headquarters  of 
foreign  firms  dealing  in  agricultural  machinery,  and  an 
immense  business  in  that  line  is  transacted.  About  one- 
fourth  of  the  grain  exported  from  Russia  passes  through 
this  port,  so  that  business  on  the  exchange  reaches  great 
proportions.  Many  steamers  sail  between  Odessa  and 
Russian  ports  of  the  Far  East.  As  this  is  considered 
coastwise  traffic,  it  can  be  carried  only  in  Russian  bot¬ 
toms.  It  has  direct  railroad  connection  with  the  rest  of 
Europe,  through  Vienna,  and  with  Moscow,  Warsaw, 
Rostov-on-Don,  and  other  cities  of  European  Russia, 
with  good  train  service.  There  is  also  direct  steamer 
connection  with  Constantinople,  Alexandria,  Naples, 
Smyrna,  and  all  ports  on  the  Black  Sea.  The  banks  are 
large  and  prosperous. 

The  business  of  Odessa  is  largely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Jews,  and  prosperous  Jews  or  their  families  may  be  seen 
at  all  times  on  the  street.  There  are,  however,  more  who 
are  extremely  poor.  The  Russians  all  dislike  them  in 
Odessa,  it  seems,  but  no  doubt  this  hatred  is  partly  the 
result  of  envy.  The  smaller  Jewish  dealers  go  into  the 
country,  where  they  purchase  the  grain  from  the  peas¬ 
ants  at  the  lowest  possible  price.  They  then  speculate  on 
the  rise  and  fall  of  the  market.  Some  of  these  dealers 


A  RUSSIAN  BILL  -  BOARD,  ODESSA 


THE  MUSEUM,  ODESSA 


< 


Around  the  Black  Sea  137 


purchase  the  wheat  in  the  ground  for  cash,  taking  all 
the  risk  of  failure.  Under  such  circumstances  the  price 
paid  is  small,  but,  if  the  harvest  is  good,  the  return  is 
correspondingly  large.  The  peasant  is  glad  to  get  his 
money  down.  If  the  crop  is  large,  however,  he  thinks 
he  has  been  cheated  and  joins  in  the  outcry  against  this 
race. 

There  are  some  pretty  summer  resorts  along  the  coast 
up  as  far  as  Arcadia,  and  sea  bathing  is  there  indulged 
in.  The  coast  in  that  direction  is  very  beautiful,  and 
it  is  little  wonder  that  the  people  fall  in  love  with  that 
bit  of  shore.  In  the  municipal  opera  house,  one  of  the 
finest  in  Europe,  a  subsidized  company  gives  perform¬ 
ances  at  least  twice  a  week  for  about  half  the  year.  Near 
the  opera  house  is  also  the  museum,  where  there  is  an 
interesting  collection  of  Greek  and  Scythian  antiquities 
gathered  from  along  the  coast  of  the  Black  Sea.  A  col¬ 
lection  of  several  thousand  coins  of  the  earlier  civiliza¬ 
tions,  Greek,  Scythian,  Genoese,  Turkish,  etc.,  is  one  of 
the  most  interesting  features  of  this  museum. 

Odessa  has  not  prospered  so  much  in  the  last  decade 
as  formerly.  The  Imperial  patronage  has  been  trans¬ 
ferred  to  Nicolaiev.  Furthermore,  Odessa  is  looked 
upon  as  one  of  the  hotbeds  of  anarchy  by  the  present 
government.  During  the  bloody  year  of  1905,  Odessa 
was  one  of  the  most  troublesome  spots  in  the  Empire. 
Several  sanguinary  encounters  between  the  police  and 
populace  took  place.  When  the  Potemkin  mutinied  the 
crew  headed  straight  for  Odessa,  where  they  knew  sym¬ 
pathizers  would  be  found.  They  anchored  in  full  view 
of  the  boulevard.  Great  crowds  gathered,  inflammatory 
speeches  were  made,  and  riots  began  that  lasted  a  week. 
This  disturbance  was  followed  by  a  strike.  The  strikers 
in  the  local  factories  were  unusually  bold  and  trouble- 


138  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


some,  and  set  fire  to  warehouses,  elevators,  and  other 
buildings.  Almost  the  entire  dock  was  swept  by  the 
flames.  There  were  gatling  guns  in  the  streets  and  vol¬ 
leys  from  housetops  or  shuttered  windows.  The  gov¬ 
ernor  was  in  a  panic  more  than  once,  and  the  telegraph 
wires  leading  to  St.  Petersburg  were  kept  red-hot  night 
and  day. 

The  Odessans  grow  excited  as  they  recite  these  stirring 
times  to  the  visitor.  The  Jews  were  openly  blamed  for 
much  of  the  trouble,  and  several  hundred  of  that  faith 
were  killed.  A  better  word  would  be  assassinated,  for 
many  were  killed  right  in  their  homes.  As  a  result  of 
these  conditions,  capitalists  hesitated  to  invest  their 
money  in  Odessa,  and  the  former  current  of  prosperity 
and  growth  received  a  severe  check. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  CRIMEA 

Playground  of  Russia  —  Historical  Ground  —  Scythians  —  A  Russian 
Pompeii  —  Tartars  —  Bakshisarai  —  Sevastopol  —  Foreign  Ceme¬ 
teries  —  Balaklava  —  Russian  Riviera  —  A  Beautiful  Ride  —  Mag¬ 
nificent  Villas  —  Livadia  —  lalta  —  Derekoi. 

The  peninsula  known  as  the  Crimea,  which  juts  out 
into  the  Black  Sea,  is  the  loveliest  gem  in  the  crown  of 
the  Czar.  The  Tartar  inhabitants  speak  of  it  as  a  “  Lit¬ 
tle  Paradise.”  It  is  a  pleasing  change  from  the  endless 
steppes,  to  one  who  approaches  it  from  the  mainland, 
and  furnishes  the  variety  of  delightful  scenery  that  is 
lacking  elsewhere.  In  area  this  peninsula  is  about  the 
size  of  Maryland.  It  measures  two  hundred  miles  from 
east  to  west,  and  two-thirds  that  distance  from  north  to 
south  at  its  widest  point.  The  northern  part  is  steppe, 
a  continuation  of  the  mainland,  which  frequently  suffers 
from  drought,  but  the  southern  portion  seems  like  a 
transformation. 

Sevastopol  is  nine  hundred  miles  south  of  Moscow 
in  an  almost  direct  line,  and  is  connected  with  that  city 
by  railroad.  The  delightful  climate  has  made  the  Crimea 
the  playground  of  Russia,  and  the  southern  coast  is  lined 
with  the  villas  of  the  nobles  and  wealthy  families  of 
Russia.  Boarding  houses  and  hotels  by  the  score  take 
good  care  of  those  who  are  not  so  fortunate  as  to  own 
one  of  these  palaces.  In  winter,  during  the  severe 
weather  of  that  season,  invalids  flock  to  the  Crimea, 

139 


140  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


where  warmer  breezes  blow,  and  the  mountains  protect 
the  shores  from  the  northern  blasts  with  their  icy 
breath. 

The  Crimea  is  a  fascinating  field  for  historians  and 
archeologists  and  anthropologists.  Its  history  can  be 
traced  back  through  twenty-four  centuries,  though  with 
a  number  of  wide  gaps.  The  dominating  nations  of  the 
earth  have  fought  fiercely  for  its  possession  throughout 
the  ages.  The  original  inhabitants  furnished  much  ma¬ 
terial  for  Grecian  mythology,  and  their  footprints  abound 
in  many  parts  of  the  little  peninsula.  The  Cimmerians, 
one  of  the  earliest  people  referred  to  in  history,  are  men¬ 
tioned  by  Homer  and  Herodotus  in  their  writings.  In 
the  Odyssey  appears  the  following  lines : 

“  There  in  a  lonely  land  and  gloomy  cells 
The  dusky  nation  of  Cimmeria  dwells.” 

The  Scythians,  an  Asiatic  tribe,  drove  the  Cimmerians 
out  of  the  Crimea  in  the  seventh  century  before  Christ. 
It  is  from  this  race  that  the  Welsh  are  said  to  be  de¬ 
scended.  Theodosia  dates  back  a  thousand  years  before 
the  Christian  era,  and  was  known  to  the  geographers  of 
Greece  and  Rome.  Herodotus  visited  the  Crimea  about 
400  B.  c.,  and  describes  it  in  considerable  detail,  as  well 
as  the  burial  ceremonies  of  the  Scythian  chieftains.  Sev¬ 
eral  of  their  ancient  tumuli  have  been  found  in  recent 
years,  and  upon  being  opened,  have  verified  these  an¬ 
cient  descriptions.  In  the  sixth  century  b.  c.  a  Greek 
colony  was  founded  near  Kertch,  which  was  dedicated 
to  Pan.  In  the  year  480  b.  c.,  it  is  known  that  the  king 
of  the  Crimea  was  named  Archaenax,  and  his  successor 
was  Spartacus.  A  number  of  other  colonies  were 
founded  by  the  Greek  colonists  on  the  peninsula,  some 
of  which  were  at  first  free,  but  all  were  finally  united 


The  Crimea 


141 


into  one  kingdom  which  lasted  until  1 1 5  b.  c.,  when  Pari- 
sades,  the  last  native  king,  yielded  to  Mithridates. 

A  couple  of  miles  distant  from  Sevastopol  is  the  site 
of  an  ancient,  city,  known  as  Chersonesus.  The  exact 
date  of  the  founding  of  this  city  is  not  known,  but  it  was 
not  later  than  the  fifth  century  before  Christ  when  the 
first  Greek  colonists  settled  on  this  little  point  of  land. 
Chersonesus  soon  became  a  vigorous  republic,  and  a 
tablet  has  been  unearthed  which  contains  the  form  of 
oath  demanded  of  her  citizens.  Later,  Chersonesus  fell 
under  the  power  of  Mithridates  the  Great,  and  eventually 
became  a  part  of  the  Roman  Empire.  At  this  time,  it 
was  a  wonderfully  rich  and  beautiful  city,  as  the  remains 
of  its  temples,  baths  and  other  monuments  attest.  A 
list  of  no  fewer  than  forty-five  kings  of  the  Bosphorus 
has  been  made  out  from  coins  discovered  along  this  coast, 
and  from  inscriptions  on  tombs.  The  Athenians  im¬ 
ported  more  grain  from  the  Crimea  than  any  other  place, 
and  it  became  almost  as  important  to  them  as  Egypt  did 
to  Rome  in  later  years.  It  was  at  Chersonesus  that  Eu¬ 
ripides  placed  the  scene  of  his  Iphigenia  in  Taurus.  The 
inlet  of  BalakJava  is  also  said  to  be  the  scene  of  Ulysses’ 
adventures  with  the  monstrous  Lsestrigons.  These  in¬ 
stances  simply  illustrate  the  familiarity  of  Greek  writers 
with  this  locality. 

A  part  of  the  walls  of  the  old  town  have  been  uncov¬ 
ered,  as  well  as  ruins  of  early  temples  and  Byzantine 
churches.  One  of  these  churches  is  believed  to  date  from 
the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era.  Pope  Clement  I 
is  said  to  have  worked  as  a  slave  in  the  neighbouring* 
quarries  and  preached  the  gospel  in  the  streets  of  Cher¬ 
sonesus,  and  thus  aided  in  converting  the  city  to  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Underneath  the  floor  of  the  Basilica  have  been 
dug  up  several  hundred  coins,  which  furnish  an  inter- 


142  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

esting  story  in  themselves.  There  are  coins  of  Nero, 
Hadrian  and  Marcus  Aurelius  which  have  been  found 
in  other  parts  of  the  city.  In  tombs  have  been  unearthed 
amulets,  carved  ivory  pocket-combs,  bracelets,  bronze 
idols,  clay  vases,  tear-bottles,  burial  urns,  and  many  other 
interesting  articles.  A  Russian  writer  has  named  this 
city  the  Russian  Pompeii,  and  the  name  does  not  seem 
to  be  badly  applied. 

There  is  scarcely  a  conquering  race  of  history  which 
has  not  at  some  time  claimed  sovereignty  over  this  penin¬ 
sula.  Greeks,  Persians,  Romans,  Goths,  Huns,  Genoese, 
and  Venetians  succeeded  one  another  in  control.  On  the 
separation  of  the  Roman  Empire,  the  Crimea  became  a 
vassal  of  Byzantium.  In  the  fourteenth  century  the 
Golden  Horde  of  Tartars  drove  out  the  Genoese  and 
remained  there,  although  they  always  paid  tribute  to  the 
Turks.  In  1771  the  Tartar  khan,  Sahym  Ghyrey,  sur¬ 
rendered  to  Prince  Potemkin,  and  since  that  time  the 
Crimea  has  been  an  integral  part  of  the  Russian  Empire. 
Its  later  history  has  been  comparatively  uneventful  save 
for  the  stirring  events  of  the  Crimean  War,  when  the 
soldiers  of  England,  France,  Sardinia  and  Turkey  were 
encamped  on  the  hills  and  valleys  around  Sevastopol. 

Of  all  the  races  that  have  occupied  the  Crimea  prior 
to  the  Russian,  the  Tartars  have  left  the  greatest  impress. 
They  call  themselves  Krim-Tartars,  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  other  Tartar  governments  that  once  ruled  in 
Russia.  Their  capital  was  at  Bakshisarai,  about  thirty 
miles  northeast  of  Sevastopol.  Here  the  khans  lived  in 
barbaric  splendour  within  palaces  of  fantastic  Oriental 
design.  The  Khan  Sarai  Palace  has  been  restored  and 
finished  in  the  original  style,  and  can  still  be  viewed.  It  is 
said  to  be  the  original  palace  described  in  “  Lalla  Rookh.” 
Although  not  so  extensive  or  beautiful  as  the  Alhambra, 


The  Crimea 


143 


the  resemblance  in  the  two  palaces  as  to  arrangement  and 
decoration  is  very  marked.  There  are  many  beautiful 
fountains,  but  the  most  noted  is  the  Seyl-sybyl,  the 
“  flood  of  tears,”  erected  by  the  Khan  Shahim  Ghirei, 
on  the  death  of  one  of  his  wives,  who  was  a  Christian. 

The  market  at  Bakshisarai  is  as  interesting,  or,  per¬ 
haps,  more  so,  than  a  visit  to  the  palace  or  the  tombs 
of  the  khans  which  lie  near  it.  There  are  no  fewer  than 
ten  thousand  Tartars  who  dwell  in  this  town,  and  the 
market  swarms  with  them.  It  makes  one  think  that  he 
has  stepped  into  some  section  of  the  Orient.  It  is  a 
good  place  to  study  ethnology,  for  one  will  find  not  only 
the  Tartars,  but  representatives  of  all  the  conquering 
races  that  once  inhabited  this  peninsula.  The  display 
of  fruits  is  very  interesting  also,  for  the  Crimea  is  fa¬ 
mous  as  the  fruit  garden  of  Russia.  In  a  suburb  reside 
a  colony  of  Jews,  who  have  lived  here  for  many  cen¬ 
turies,  as  long  or  longer  than  the  Christian  era,  so  it  is 
claimed.  Because  of  this  fact,  they  have  been  exempted 
from  the  ordinary  restrictions  imposed  upon  this  race  in 
Russia.  They  are  of  the  Karaim  sect,  and  follow  the 
Mosaic  law  strictly.  The  inscriptions  on  some  of  the  old 
tombs  describe  the  death  of  the  one  buried  beneath  as 
so  many  years  after  the  creation  or  the  exile. 

Sevastopol  is  the  best  known  place  in  the  Crimea,  and 
it  is  probably  better  known  because  of  its  misfortune  than 
for  any  other  reason.  A  city  that  withstood  a  siege  of 
thirteen  months  of  the  combined  armies  of  four  nations, 
and  was  then  destroyed  by  its  defenders  on  deserting  it, 
deserves  a  red-letter  page  in  history.  Sevastopol  is  not 
an  old  city,  for  it  was  built  by  the  Russians  after  the 
cession  of  the  Crimea  to  them.  Catherine  the  Great 
christened  it  Sevastos-polis,  the  august  city,  on  the  occa¬ 
sion  of  her  visit  in  1787.  It  is  pronounced  Se-vas-tow- 


144  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


pol,  with  a  strong  accent  on  the  third  syllable.  She  or¬ 
dered  it  to  be  made  into  a  strong  fortress  and,  next  to 
Kronstadt,  the  island  that  guards  St.  Petersburg,  it  is 
the  most  strongly  fortified  place  in  Russia.  The  city 
was  almost  entirely  destroyed  during  the  Crimean  War, 
but  has  been  rebuilt  and  made  stronger  than  ever  by 
military  engineers.  It  is  the  headquarters  of  a  large 
army  and  a  fleet  of  armoured  ships  of  all  kinds. 

“  You  must  not  take  any  photographs,”  said  the  cap¬ 
tain  of  the  steamer  as  the  forts  came  into  view,  and  I 
was  getting  my  camera  ready  for  action.  The  rules  are 
very  strict  in  the  town,  and  an  attempt  to  photograph 
will  be  sure  to  invite  trouble.  Long  before  we  reached 
Sevastopol  cruisers  and  torpedo  boats  scurried  past  us, 
as  if  on  a  tour  of  investigation.  As  the  prow  of  our  boat 
turned  into  the  spacious  bay,  the  forts  began  to  be  vis¬ 
ible,  and  we  passed  St.  George’s  battery.  It  seemed  as 
though  every  eminence  was  crowned  with  batteries.  The 
gray  hulks  of  the  battleships  at  anchor  loomed  up  as  we 
made  the  last  turn,  and  then  the  white  walls  of  the  city, 
rising  in  terraces  one  above  another,  were  revealed  in 
the  bright  sunlight  of  midday.  A  Russian  Orthodox 
church  occupies  the  most  conspicuous  place  on  the  hill. 
This  is  the  church  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  churches  in  Russia.  But  the  minarets  of 
a  couple  of  mosques  rise  far  above  the  roofs  of  the  dwell¬ 
ings. 

Sevastopol  occupies  a  very  conspicuous  site  on  a  prom¬ 
ontory  that  faces  the  sea.  Its  bay  is  one  of  the  best  road¬ 
steads  in  Europe,  and  could  shelter  the  combined  navies 
of  all  the  European  powers.  Viewed  from  the  sea,  while 
the  white  walls  glisten  in  the  sun,  it  looks  much  larger 
than  it  really  is.  But  it  is  not  a  large  city.  The  finest 
view  is  from  the  city  toward  the  bay,  for  it  is  to  the 


The  Crimea 


145 


exquisite  azure  of  the  water  and  the  sky  that  the  city 
owes  its  principal  charm.  There  is  hardly  a  point  in  the 
municipality  from  which  you  cannot  get  a  glimpse  of  the 
sea  in  one  direction  or  another.  On  one  side  is  an  estu¬ 
ary  given  up  to  commerce.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
ridge  is  the  naval  harbour,  or  inner  bay,  with  a  narrow 
entrance  defended  by  forts.  The  streets  of  the  city  are 
wide,  and  are  paved  with  large  rough  stones,  over  which 
the  traffic  rattles  with  merciless  noise.  Handsome  houses 
of  white  stone  gleam  between  the  foliage  of  the  trees 
that  line  the  broad  streets,  while  the  green  of  the  trees 
contrasts  strongly  with  the  dull  colour  of  the  country 
surrounding. 

Everything  about  Sevastopol  is  a  reminder  of  the  mili¬ 
tary.  Sailors  and  soldiers  are  omnipresent.  The  tramp 
of  troops  marching  along  the  street,  and  the  clanking  of 
the  spurs  of  the  officers  as  they  walk  along  the  sidewalk 
are  heard  at  all  times.  The  bugle  calls  are  echoed  by  the 
hills  on  the  opposite  shores.  Signals  are  constantly  being 
wigwagged  from  ship  to  ship,  or  from  ship  to  shore. 
From  two  to  a  half  dozen  airships,  biplane  or  monoplane, 
may  be  seen  hovering  over  the  city  or  surrounding  coun¬ 
try  whenever  conditions  permit.  On  the  outskirts  the 
awkward  squads  are  being  drilled,  and  others  are  doing 
police  duty  for  violation  of  discipline. 

At  Sevastopol  the  problem  of  war  is  taken  seriously. 
One  of  the  most  interesting  sights  is  a  huge  panoramic 
reproduction  of  the  siege,  which  brings  the  scene  vividly 
to  one’s  mind.  Although  Sevastopol  was  lost,  the  Rus¬ 
sians  are  proud  of  the  wonderful  heroism  shown  by  the 
defenders,  forty-three  thousand  of  whom  lost  their  lives. 
When  the  city  was  captured,  on  the  8th  of  September, 
1855,  there  was  scarcely  a  house  left  standing,  for  most 
of  them  had  been  blown  up  by  the  defenders.  On  the 


146  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


opposite  side  of  the  harbour  from  the  town  is  the  naval 
station,  which  is  reached  by  ferry-boats  that  cross  every 
few  minutes.  Barracks  for  soldiers  and  marines,  hos¬ 
pitals,  arsenals,  warehouses,  etc.,  covering-  several  hun¬ 
dred  acres,  extend  up  the  side  of  the  hill  on  that  side 
of  the  harbour.  Tall  smokestacks  rise  in  the  air,  and 
there  are  many  docks  and  piers  extending  into  the  water. 
The  officers’  houses  on  that  side  are  quite  pretty,  and 
they  form  a  section  by  themselves. 

There  is  a  park  at  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  where 
the  life  of  both  civilians  and  soldiers  centres  during  the 
summer  months.  Here  is  a  promenade,  an  outdoor  thea¬ 
tre,  and  a  concert  stand  where  the  band  plays  every  after¬ 
noon  and  evening.  Everybody  comes  forth  from  his  pal¬ 
ace  or  hovel  in  the  evenings.  Tall  officers,  military  as 
well  as  naval,  may  be  seen  strolling  along  with  hand¬ 
somely  gowned  women.  Soldier  boys  in  their  dark  uni¬ 
forms,  and  sailor  boys  in  snowy  white,  with  sky-blue  rib¬ 
bons  fluttering  from  their  caps,  and  blue  borders  of  the 
same  hue  to  their  wide  collars,  strut  up  and  down  the 
paths  ogling  the  girls,  who  probably  flock  hither  for  that 
purpose.  At  least  the  fear  of  it  does  not  keep  them  away. 
In  front  of  this  park  is  the  Grafskaya  Pristan,  or  “  land¬ 
ing-place  of  the  nobility.”  It  is  a  great  stairway  of  white 
marble  fifty  feet  wide,  which  leads  from  the  edge  of  the 
water  to  the  summit  of  the  bluff,  where  there  is  a  classic 
pavilion,  supported  by  twelve  marble  columns.  When 
the  Czar  or  other  distinguished  visitors  come,  they  are 
received  here  with  great  ceremony.  It  was  erected  in 
honour  of  Prince  Woronzov,  a  former  governor  of  the 
Crimea. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  city  is  another  and  larger  park, 
which  was  the  site  of  the  strongest  fortifications  during 
the  siege.  The  ground  has  been  levelled  off,  planted  with 


The  Crimea 


147 


trees  and  shrubs,  and  laid  out  in  walks  and  drives.  In 
the  centre  is  the  permanent  building  for  the  exhibition 
of  the  panorama  of  the  siege.  In  the  park  stands  a  monu¬ 
ment  to  General  Tadleben,  who  planned  the  defences  and 
is  regarded  as  the  greatest  hero  of  the  war.  The  city 
abounds  in  statues  erected  to  its  heroes,  and  a  handsome 
church  has  been  erected  to  the  memory  of  four  admirals, 
Nachemov,  Lazarev,  Kornilov,  and  Istomena,  all  of 
whom  were  conspicuous  during  the  siege.  In  the  har¬ 
bour  is  a  curious  monument  erected  by  the  government 
to  the  memory  of  the  ships  that  were  sunk  in  order  to 
prevent  foreign  men-of-war  from  entering  the  harbour, 
much  like  the  attempt  to  bottle  up  Santiago  during  the 
Spanish-American  war. 

Each  nation  has  its  own  cemetery  for  the  burial  of 
the  victims  of  the  Crimean  War.  The  largest  and  most 
imposing,  naturally,  is  the  Russian,  where  the  graves  of 
thirty-eight  thousand  soldiers  surround  a  large  pyramid 
of  stone,  which  has  been  erected  by  the  government  in 
honour  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  fell  during  the 
siege.  The  French  cemetery  lies  a  little  distance  from 
the  town.  An  avenue  of  small  trees  leads  to  the  entrance, 
and  a  high  wall  surrounds  a  number  of  mausoleums  and 
little  chapels  erected  in  honour  of  officers.  No  fewer 
than  eighty  generals  are  buried  here,  two  thousand  other 
officers,  and  about  twenty-six  thousand  privates. 

English-speaking  people  are  probably  more  interested 
in  the  English  cemetery,  which  lies  about  two  miles  from 
the  town.  It  is  likewise  surrounded  by  a  high  wall,  but 
has  been  made  into  an  attractive  place.  Most  of  the 
bodies  of  the  English  dead  were  taken  back  to  England, 
so  that  there  are  not  nearly  so  many  buried  here.  The 
inscriptions  show  the  extreme  youth  of  many  of  them, 
boys  of  from  eighteen  to  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Most 


148  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  them  died  in  camp,  and  not  on  the  battlefield.  The 
most  imposing  monument  is  erected  to  Sir  George  Cath- 
cart,  lieutenant-general,  who  was  killed  in  action  while  in 
command  of  the  fourth  division  of  the  British  army.  The 
inscription  states  that  this  man  had  at  one  time  served 
with  the  Russian  army  against  the  first  Napoleon. 

Balaklava  is  a  small  village  situated  on  a  little  land¬ 
locked  inlet  of  the  sea.  Through  this  narrow  entrance 
Lord  Lyons  brought  in  his  great  ship,  the  Agamemnon, 
laden  with  supplies  for  the  illy  clad  and  poorly  fed  British 
soldiers  camped  about.  To-day  nothing  more  warlike 
than  the  boats  of  the  fishermen  or  private  pleasure  yachts 
sails  between  the  frowning  cliffs  that  guard  the  entrance. 
I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  visit  the  place  made 
famous  by  the  Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade.  A  drive 
of  an  hour  and  a  half  brought  me  to  the  village.  An 
unexpected  scene  of  beauty  met  my  eyes.  It  is  like  a 
diminutive  Lake  Como,  with  the  white  walls  of  villas  and 
the  houses  of  the  village  surrounding  the  shores.  The 
air  is  delightfully  refreshing,  and  the  sun  shines  brightly 
here  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  so  that  it  is  being  re¬ 
sorted  to  more  and  more  each  year.  The  water  of  the 
bay  is  pure  and  transparent,  and  the  bottom  can  be  seen 
through  many  feet  of  water.  On  the  summits  of  the 
hills  are  the  remains  of  the  walls  and  ruined  towers  of 
an  old  Genoese  fortress,  which  dates  back  more  than  four 
centuries.  Beyond  are  the  blue  waters  of  the  Black  Sea 
—  a  strange  anomaly. 

Balaklava  is  peaceful  enough  now,  with  nothing  of  a 
military  character  except  a  small  garrison.  Why  photo¬ 
graphing  should  be  prohibited,  I  know  not,  but  it  is  sim¬ 
ply  another  Russian  characteristic  that  is  inexplicable  to 
the  Western  mind. 

About  two  miles  south  of  this  picturesque  little  fort 


BALAKLAVA 


The  Crimea 


149- 


is  the  site  of  the  cavalry  charge  made  famous  by  Tenny¬ 
son.  It  is  a  wide  and  beautiful  valley,  lying  between  two 
low  ridges.  If  you  visit  the  scene  in  the  right  season, 
it  will  be  carpeted  with  flowers,  with  the  poppies  so  thick 
that  it  will  look  almost  like  a  field  of  blood.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  picture  a  more  peaceful  spot.  And  yet  on 
the  morning  of  the  25th  of  October,  1855,  before  an 
awestruck  audience  of  forty  thousand  spectators,  Rus¬ 
sian,  English,  French,  Turks,  and  Sardinians,  was  en¬ 
acted  one  of  the  bloodiest  dramas  that  history  records. 
No  arena  could  have  been  better  arranged  for  such  a 
spectacle.  It  was  not  a  great  military  feat,  this  Charge 
of  the  Light  Brigade,  and  it  was  due  to  the  misunder¬ 
standing  of  orders  by  an  impulsive  and  untrained  Irish 
commander,  the  Earl  of  Cadogan.  But  as  an  example 
of  human  bravery,  a  blind  obedience  to  orders  which  they 
must  have  known  meant  almost  certain  death,  it  has  few 
parallels  in  history. 

“  Theirs  not  to  reason  why ;  theirs  but  to  do  and  die,” 
is  the  way  the  poet,  who  has  immortalized  this  event, 
puts  this  habit  of  unreasoning  obedience.  It  is  estimated 
that  the  entire  movement  did  not  last  over  twenty  min¬ 
utes,  but  in  that  time  more  than  five  hundred  men  out 
of  seven  hundred  and  twenty-three  that  began  the  ride 
lost  their  lives.  Many  riderless  horses  helped  to  keep 
the  formation,  until  the  enemy’s  lines  were  reached.  To¬ 
day  a  marble  shaft  stands  on  the  spot  where  the  fatal 
command  was  given.  This  one  command  was  “  Left 
wheel  into  line!  Forward,  march!”  Not  a  word,  so 
history  records,  was  spoken  after  that. 

“  Forward  the  Light  Brigade  ! 

Was  there  a  man  dismayed  ? 

'  Not  tho’  the  soldiers  knew 

Some  one  had  blundered. 


150  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


“  Boldly  they  rode  and  well, 

Into  the  jaws  of  death, 

Into  the  mouth  of  hell, 

Rode  the  Six  Hundred. 

“  Then  they  rode  back,  but  not  — 

Not  the  Six  Hundred.” 

One  who  has  seen  only  the  interior  of  Russia,  or  even 
the  northern  part  of  the  Crimea,  cannot  form  the  faintest 
idea  of  the  grandeur  of  the  southern  coast  of  the  penin¬ 
sula.  It  is  called  the  Russian  Riviera,  and  well  deserves 
the  name.  There  is  even  greater  natural  beauty  than 
that  well-known  coast  of  the  Mediterranean.  All  around 
this  shore  the  rocky  sides  of  the  peaks  slope  abruptly  to 
the  water’s  edge.  Cliffs  rise  in  places  to  a  height  of  from 
two  thousand  to  three  thousand  feet,  and  are  crowned 
with  domes,  spires  and  pinnacles.  The  cliffs  are  honey¬ 
combed  with  caverns,  in  which  stalactite  and  stalagmite 
abound.  A  fine  carriage  road  has  been  constructed  to 
Ialta,  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  or  more,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  most  delightful  and  picturesque  rides  imaginable.  An 
automobile  makes  the  trip  in  about  five  hours,  and  it  was 
in  this  way  that  I  reached  beautiful  Ialta. 

Leaving  Sevastopol,  the  first  part  of  the  journey  is 
over  rather  barren  range,  where  little  attempt  is  made  at 
agriculture.  There  are  no  division  fences,  and  not  many 
dwellings.  Large  flocks  of  sheep  are  grazed  on  this 
range  which  are  guarded  by  a  shepherd  and  his  dogs, 
just  as  they  have  been  from  time  immemorial.  The  route 
passes  over  a  part  of  the  old  battlefield.  After  a  ride 
of  about  an  hour  the  road  enters  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Baidar,  an  Arcadia  over  whose  beauties  travellers  often¬ 
times  go  into  raptures.  At  certain  seasons  this  valley 


The  Crimea 


151 


is  simply  covered  with  wild  flowers,  so  profusely  do  they 
grow  here.  The  woods  and  meadows  will  be  carpeted 
with  violets,  veronicas,  tulips  and  lilies  of  the  valley. 
The  road  descends  the  hillside  through  thick  woods  of 
oak,  and  coils,  snakelike,  amidst  the  verdure,  until  it 
reaches  the  valley  beneath,  where  a  Tartar  village  has 
gleamed  like  a  speck  from  the  distance.  The  valley  is 
much  broader  than  it  appeared  at  first  view,  and  it  is 
some  time  before  the  village  is  reached.  The  valley  has 
the  name  of  being  the  warmest  and  most  sheltered  spot 
in  the  whole  of  the  Crimea,  and  its  fertility  is  amazing. 

This  Tartar  village  is  only  one  of  many  that  dot  the 
valley,  but  it  is  typical.  The  bright  dresses  of  the  women 
make  it  seem  as  though  they  had  all  stepped  out  of  pic¬ 
ture  books.  The  streets  are  narrow,  and  two  vehicles  can 
scarcely  pass.  The  houses  are  the  same  low,  flat-roofed 
kind  that  one  will  find  all  over  the  Orient. 

Three  parallel  ridges  are  passed,  for  that  number  cross 
the  peninsula.  The  road  is  a  constant  incline,  first  up 
and  then  down.  About  half  of  the  way  over  the  climax 
of  the  scene  is  reached.  This  is  known  as  the  Baidar 
Gate,  a  great  stone  arch,  and  is  a  part  of  an  ancient  forti¬ 
fication  built  to  protect  the  tax  collector.  It  marks  the 
highest  point  in  the  road,  and  is  about  two  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level,  with  towering  peaks  on  either  hand. 
Here  one  can  lunch  and  look  down  upon  the  turquoise 
waters  of  the  Black  Sea.  The  view  of  the  water’s  ex¬ 
panse  from  this  spot  has  few  equals  in  the  world.  The 
sunrise  is  glorious.  Through  the  Baidar  gateway,  which 
faces  the  east,  one  can  see  the  sun  rising  in  blue  and 
gold  and  crimson  above  the  horizon  of  this  tideless  sea. 

The  automobile  stops  here  for  a  halt,  while  the  pas¬ 
sengers  drink  in  the  beauty.  Words  are  inadequate  to 
portray  the  scene,  and  the  camera  fails  to  reproduce  the 


152  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


colour  of  the  hills  and  the  blue  of  the  sea  so  far  beneath. 
On  a  promontory  beneath,  and  about  half-way  down,  is 
a  handsome  Byzantine  church,  which  was  erected  as  a 
memorial  to  a  Moscow  tea  merchant,  who  owned  a  villa 
near  this  spot.  It  does  not  add  to  the  beauty  of  the  scene. 
The  road  can  be  seen  zigzagging  no  fewer  than  a  dozen 
times  beneath  you,  as  it  seeks  a  lower  level.  A  constant 
succession  of  fine  Russian  turnouts  passes  by.  The 
troikas,  with  three  horses  hitched  abreast,  and  a  bell  on 
the  pole,  are  the  most  picturesque.  The  outside  horses, 
which  are  loosely  hitched,  run  with  their  heads  facing 
out.  The  driver  constantly  swings  his  whip  without 
touching  them,  but  the  horses  keep  their  eyes  on  its  move¬ 
ments.  Poorer  carriages,  with  the  characteristic  Russian 
harness  and  high  arched  collar,  and  loaded  with  people 
and  baggage,  are  still  more  numerous. 

Omnibuses  and  automobiles  add  to  the  life  of  the 
scene.  The  horseless  conveyance  has  become  very  pop¬ 
ular  in  the  Crimea,  for  the  roads  are  unusually  good 
for  Russian  highways,  and  it  means  rapid  transit  from 
one  place  to  another.  Long  Tartar  carts,  full  of  oval¬ 
faced,  gipsy-complexioned  children,  with  black,  laugh¬ 
ing  eyes  and  pearly  teeth,  will  be  seen.  These  children 
have  few  of  the  Mongol  traces  about  them,  as  the  differ¬ 
ent  races  have  intermarried  many  times.  They  are  no 
darker  than  the  Italians.  Turks  in  baggy  trousers,  Cos¬ 
sacks  with  their  native  caps,  and  many  other  strange  and 
curious  types  add  to  the  ethnological  variety. 

From  the  Baidar  Gate  to  Ialta  the  sea  is  always  in 
sight.  This  is  the  real  Riviera.  The  road  looks  ex¬ 
tremely  dangerous,  but  it  is  not  really  so.  It  winds 
around  beneath  steep  rocks,  which  rise  to  a  dizzy  height, 
and  are  oftentimes  almost  perpendicular,  and  in  one 
place  passes  through  a  tunnel.  The  nearer  Ialta  is  ap- 


The  Crimea 


153 


proached  the  more  beautiful  becomes  the  scene.  Some 
of  the  mountain  peaks  are  as  fantastic  as  the  Dolomites. 
Great  detached  boulders,  which  must  have  been  torn 
loose  by  some  fearful  earthquake,  seem  to  threaten  at 
times.  Everywhere  one  sees  evidences  of  the  gigantic 
struggle  that  Nature  has  gone  through  with  here  ages 
and  ages  ago.  Here  and  there  a  group  of  Tartar  huts 
are  built  against  the  crags  in  such  a  way  that  the  rock 
forms  the  back  wall  of  the  dwelling.  They  store  their 
grain  in  baskets  slung  on  poles  to  keep  the  rats  from  get¬ 
ting  at  it,  and  the  hay  is  stuck  in  the  branches  of  the 
trees. 

Many  villas  of  the  wealthy  Russians  dot  the  slopes. 
Some  of  them  are  half  hidden  by  the  trees,  while  others 
are  almost  entirely  visible.  They  are  mostly  of  very 
ornate  architecture,  covered  with  stucco  and  embellished 
with  elaborate  mouldings  over  the  windows  and  doors. 
In  many  cases  the  owners  have  their  coats-of-arms  dis¬ 
played  in  brilliant  colours  on  the  walls,  or  over  an  artis¬ 
tic  arched  gateway.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  in¬ 
teresting  of  these  villas  is  the  former  country  seat  of 
Prince  Woronzov  at  Aloupka.  It  was  built  in  1837.  It 
occupies  a  broad  terrace,  with  a  stately  stairway  that 
leads  to  the  water’s  edge.  This  is  guarded  on  both  sides 
by  a  half  dozen  marble  lions,  some  asleep  and  some 
awake.  The  architecture  is  in  general  copied  after  Eng¬ 
lish  models,  but  there  is  an  Alhambra  faqade  and  some 
Byzantine  towers  which  seem  rather  out  of  harmony 
with  the  general  design.  A  dense  artificial  forest  is  one 
of  the  great  attractions  of  Aloupka.  The  grounds  are 
always  open  to  visitors,  for  the  family  seldom  resides 
there  now,  and  a  number  of  pensions  have  grown  up 
around  it. 

Nearer  Ialta  is  a  villa  which  attracts  still  more  atten- 


154  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


tion  than  Aloupka,  and  that  is  Livadia,  one  of  the  resi¬ 
dences  of  Nicholas.  Long  before  we  reached  it,  stalwart 
Cossacks  of  the  Imperial  Guard  were  stationed  along  the 
road,  at  a  distance  of  a  few  hundred  yards  apart.  Other 
men  in  uniform  could  be  seen  in  the  fields  and  behind 
trees  or  walls.  No  one  on  foot  could  pass  these  guards 
without  written  permission.  I  found  this  out  later,  and 
came  very  near  being  arrested  by  one  of  the  guards  in 
return  for  my  desire  to  take  some  photographs.  As  it 
was,  I  was  compelled  to  return  to  the  city,  and  a  mounted 
soldier  followed  me  almost  to  my  hotel.  It  would  cer¬ 
tainly  be  impossible  for  any  mundane  dweller  to  pass  the 
guard  and  reach  the  palace  from  any  direction  without 
being  detected. 

Livadia  is  distant  from  Ialta  only  about  two  miles. 
It  is  a  quiet  place,  where  the  present  Czar,  his  father  and 
grandfather  have  spent  their  happiest  hours.  There  are 
two  palaces  here,  the  Large  Palace  and  the  Small  Palace. 
However  fond  of  display  and  autocratic  power  Alex¬ 
ander  III  may  have  been,  and  few  were  more  exacting  in 
regard  to  ceremony  and  etiquette,  here  he  threw  aside 
all  pomp  and  lived  the  simple  life.  In  the  Small  Palace 
he  breathed  his  last,  and  some  of  the  rooms  are  left  just 
as  they  were  at  that  time,  and  will  never  be  occupied 
again.  The  Large  Palace,  in  which  the  present  Emperor 
and  his  family  spend  several  months  each  year,  is  simply 
and  tastefully  furnished.  Many  summer  homes  of 
wealthy  Americans  are  far  more  richly  furnished  than 
this  simple  retreat  of  Nicholas  II.  He  is  said  to  live 
a  very  plain  and  simple  existence  here,  for  there  is  less 
fear  of  assassination  in  the  Crimea  than  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  of  St.  Petersburg.  The  Imperial  yacht,  the 
Standart,  is  always  kept  anchored  in  the  harbour  during 
the  Czar’s  presence,  and  between  this  and  the  automo- 


THE  LARGE  PALACE,  LIVADIA 


The  Crimea 


155 


biles  His  Imperial  Majesty  manages  to  while  away  the 
time. 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him  as  he  rode  through 
the  streets  of  Ialta  in  a  touring  car,  without  any  more 
appearance  of  guards  than  any  other  ruler  might  have 
done.  The  police  were  very  strict  concerning  strangers, 
however,  and  a  special  soldier  was  stationed  at  every 
hotel  who  personally  interrogated  every  arrival.  A  pass¬ 
port  alone  was  not  sufficient,  but  one  had  to  give  a  gene¬ 
alogical  account  of  himself,  as  well  as  answer  a  number 
of  questions  regarding  his  business  and  religious  belief. 

Ialta  is  a  beautiful  place  on  the  side  of  the  mountain, 
and  facing  the  sea.  The  peaks  at  the  back  rise  to  a 
height  of  from  twenty-five  hundred  to  three  thousand 
feet,  and  make  an  alluring  background  to  the  scene.  The 
lower  slopes  of  this  mountain  are  covered  with  vege¬ 
tation,  but  the  top  is  bare  and  jagged.  It  is  often 
hidden  by  clouds,  and  in  spring  and  winter  the  crevices 
are  filled  with  snow.  Although  almost  in  the  same 
latitude  as  the  Maine  coast,  snow  never  falls  at  Ialta. 
It  resembles  San  Remo  and  other  places  in  the  Riviera. 
Its  climate  is  said  to  be  far  superior  even  to  Nice,  as 
there  is  less  rain  in  winter,  more  sunshine  in  autumn, 
and  the  summers  are  considerably  cooler.  It  might 
be  called  the  Newport  of  Russia,  for  it  is  the  fashionable 
resort. 

Every  view  at  Ialta  is  a  picture.  Nature  has  done 
everything  possible  to  make  the  surroundings  beautiful. 
Although  a  town  of  twenty  thousand,  little  trade  is 
done  there  and  the  inhabitants  live  off  the  strangers. 
Hotels,  pensions,  and  boarding  houses  abound  on  all 
sides,  and  they  have  the'  traits  common  to  that  class 
everywhere.  Lucky  indeed  is  the  visitor  who  escapes 
from  at  least  petty  extortion.  In  the  olden  days  the 


156  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


barbarian  inhabitants  of  the  Crimea  robbed  the  travellers ; 
to-day  the  landlords  of  the  summer  hotels  perform  the 
same  delicate  task  almost  as  successfully.  The  height 
of  the  season  is  during  May  and  June,  and  again  during 
October  and  November,  and  these  are  the  best  months 
for  comfort.  Few  visitors  other  than  Russians  come 
to  Ialta.  Although  in  the  height  of  the  season,  I  was 
the  only  English-speaking  guest  at  the  large  modern 
hotel,  the  Hotel  Russia.  I  met  one  lone  Englishman  who 
was  stopping  at  another  hotel.  There  is  no  railroad,  and 
most  people  come  by  steamer  from  Sevastopol,  Odessa, 
Novorossisk,  Rostov-on-Don,  and  other  places,  or  take 
the  overland  drive  from  Simpheropol  and  Sevastopol  by 
automobile  or  carriage. 

Because  of  the  presence  of  the  Czar  the  nobility  and 
politicians  were  in  Ialta  in  great  numbers  at  the  time 
of  my  visit.  Three  members  of  the  Imperial  Cabinet 
were  stopping  at  the  same  hotel  as  myself.  Military 
uniforms  prevailed  over  the  civilian,  and  many  were  of 
high  rank.  The  officials  were  generally  accompanied  by 
richly  gowned  ladies,  for  uniforms  appeal  to  the  fair  sex 
here  as  well  as  elsewhere.  It  was  a  good  place  to  study 
Russian  aristocracy  and  bureaucracy  at  its  best.  In  the 
evening  all  Ialta  and  its  visitors,  with  the  exception  of 
the  ultra-fashionable,  paraded  up  and  down  the  principal 
street,  which  runs  parallel  with  the  sea  front,  and  later 
adjourned  to  the  open-air  cafes  to  drink  tea  and  listen 
to  the  orchestras  or  bands.  There  is  a  charm  about  Ialta 
that  is  irresistible,  and  I  regretted  the  day  that  I  felt  com¬ 
pelled  to  leave.  There  are  delightful  drives  in  every 
direction,  with  glimpses  of  waterfalls,  gorges,  groves  and 
gardens.  The  bay  is  well  sheltered,  so  that  many  white¬ 
winged  yachts  and  motor  launches  will  be  found  in  the 
harbour.  Restaurants  and  cafes  abound  almost  every- 


IALTA 


The  Crimea 


157 


where,  and  there  is  good  bathing  at  a  number  of  places. 
Villas  will  be  found  wherever  the  location  furnishes  a 
good  view  of  the  sea. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  Tartar,  or  Tatar,  reminders  of 
the  Crimea.  This  was  the  last  stronghold  of  this  Orien¬ 
tal  race  in  Europe.  Ialta  has  a  large  Tartar  section, 
which  always  attracts  western  visitors.  Many  of  the 
shops  have  an  Oriental  character,  for  besides  the  usual 
nondescript  stock  of  goods,  there  are  beautiful  Turkish 
rugs  and  Tartar  embroideries  temptingly  displayed,  as 
well  as  many  other  eastern  wares.  There  are  many  vil¬ 
lages  in  the  peninsula  where  the  Tartars  live  by  them¬ 
selves  entirely.  They  preserve  their  own  customs  and 
language,  and  remain  true  to  the  Mohammedan  religion. 
Bakshisarai,  the  ancient  capital,  contains  no  fewer  than 
thirty-six  mosques. 

One  of  the  typical  Tartar  villages  is  Derekoi,  near 
Ialta,  which  I  visited  and  want  to  tell  you  about.  A  boy 
from  the  village,  who  worked  in  the  hotel,  acted  as  my 
guide,  and  another  guest  went  along  as  interpreter.  It  was 
hard  to  believe  that  one  was  not  in  Northern  Africa  or 
Asia  Minor.  There  were  the  same  narrow,  dirty  streets, 
the  same  mud  walls,  the  same  open  sewers  and  the  same 
odour  that  I  have  seen  and  experienced  in  Morocco. 
Men  and  women,  boys  and  girls,  wore  the  Tartar  cos¬ 
tume,  and  there  was  a  little  mosque,  whose  slender  min¬ 
aret  shoots  skyward,  which  we  visited  with  our  guide. 
The  tombstones  all  have  the  fez  or  turban  carved  on  the 
top  of  the  headstone,  the  same  as  one  will  find  in  most 
Mohammedan  countries.  There  was  a  coffee-house 
where  the  real  Turkish  beverage  is  served,  and  whose 
walls  are  adorned  with  garish  coloured  prints. 

Hassan,  for  that  was  the  boy’s  name,  then  suggested 
that  we  visit  his  home.  This  was  an  unlooked  for  pleas- 


158  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ure,  which  we  gladly  accepted.  Although  the  exterior 
of  the  home  was  unattractive,  the  interior  was  a  revela¬ 
tion.  The  salaamik,  or  reception-room,  was  a  large, 
square,  low-ceilinged  apartment,  common  to  all  Islam. 
Divans  along  two  sides  of  the  room  took  the  place  of 
chairs,  and  artistic  rugs  were  scattered  profusely  over 
the  floor.  The  mother  and  several  sisters  —  one  of  them 
married  and  living  there  —  greeted  us  cordially.  His 
family  certainly  belonged  to  Derekoi’s  four  hundred,  for 
nowhere  have  I  seen  a  finer  display  of  innate  courtesy. 

I  suggested  that  I  would  consider  it  an  honour  to  be 
allowed  to  photograph  the  family.  They  consented,  but 
must  first  put  on  their  best  clothes.  In  the  meantime, 
the  married  sister  entertained  us  with  Tartar  music  on 
a  graphophone  —  up-to-date,  you  see  —  and  a  bewitch¬ 
ing  little  girl  of  about  eight  summers  danced  the  native 
dances  for  us.  The  half-wild  Oriental  music,  and  the 
modest  dance  of  the  little  miss  were  a  treat.  Bright-eyed, 
brightly  arrayed,  cleanly  and  modest,  the  Tartar  maid 
won  our  hearts  completely.  After  the  music,  coffee  and 
cake  were  served  us  with  true  Oriental  hospitality.  By 
that  time,  one  after  another  member  of  the  family,  not 
even  excepting  a  baby,  were  ready  for  the  great  event 
of  a  photograph.  The  most  striking  feature  of  the  cos¬ 
tume  was  the  headdress.  This  was  in  the  shape  of  a 
fez,  and  covered  with  representations  of  gold  coins, 
which  were  worked  in  with  real  gold  thread.  One  of 
them  wore  a  shawl  which  can  be  used  to  cover  the  face, 
and  is  the  one  reminder  left  of  the  old  custom  of  screen¬ 
ing  the  face  from  public  view.  The  ends  of  this  shawl 
were  also  worked  into  Oriental  designs  with  gold  threads. 
Large  buckles  and  breastpins  completed  the  outfit,  but 
the  colours  of  the  garments  were  all  in  harmony  with 
the  designs. 


TARTAR  FAMILY  AT  DEREK.OI 


The  Crimea 


159 


Many  think  of  the  Tartars  as  half  savage  and  slov¬ 
enly.  No  home  in  America  is  cleaner  than  the  comfort¬ 
able  quarters  of  this  family,  and  none  could  show  a 
greater  hospitality  than  this  Tartar  family  in  their  mod¬ 
est,  unobtrusive  way.  In  fact,  hospitality  is  the  most 
sacred  fetich  of  this  people,  and  no  one,  not  even  a  tramp, 
would  be  turned  away  from  the  door.  We  had  no  claim 
upon  them  other  than  that  the  boy  chanced  to  be  our 
guide.  They  would  accept  nothing  in  return.  We 
forced  some  coins  on  the  little  dancer,  shook  hands  with 
all  from  the  baby  to  the  eldest,  and  I  promised  them  a 
photograph.  May  prosperity  ever  follow  in  the  foot¬ 
steps  of  our  Mohammedan  boy,  Hassan,  and  each  mem¬ 
ber  of  his  kind-hearted  and  charming  family. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  VOLGA 

Importance  to  Russia  —  Tartar  Invasion  —  Oka  River  —  Travelling  — 
Mohammedans  —  Germans  —  Kazan  —  Kama  River  —  Ekaterin¬ 
burg  —  Samara  —  Kumys  —  Astrakhan  —  Sturgeon  —  Caviar  — 
Bashkirs  and  Kirghiz  —  Nijni  Novgorod  and  the  Great  Fair. 

“  Little  Mother  Volga,”  as  the  Russians  call  their 
great  waterway,  is  the  largest  river  of  Europe  and  one 
of  the  greatest  rivers  of  the  world.  Every  land  has  one 
or  more  rivers  intimately  associated  with  its  history  and 
customs,  but  in  Russia  the  rivers  have  meant  more  than 
in  most  countries.  The  Russians  have  a  deep  affection 
for  this  vast  stream,  and  speak  of  the  Matushka  Volga 
with  genuine  affection.  From  its  source  to  its  outlet  in 
the  Caspian  Sea  the  Volga  is  twenty-two  hundred  miles 
in  length,  although  the  distance  is  less  than  a  thousand 
miles  as  the  crow  would  fly.  It  is  longer  by  nearly  eight 
hundred  miles  than  the  Danube,  the  next  largest  stream. 
The  Kama,  one  of  its  tributaries,  is  second  only  to  the 
Danube  among  the  rivers  of  that  continent. 

The  breadth  and  volume  of  the  Volga  are  worthy  its 
great  length.  In  general  the  current  is  not  swift,  for 
in  its  entire  course  the  fall  is  only  a  little  over  six  hun¬ 
dred  feet.  Its  channel  is  navigable  almost  to  its  source 
in  the  Valdai  Hills,  and  it  discharges  its  waters  into  the 
Caspian  Sea  by  seventy  mouths.  Its  width  is  frequently 
in  excess  of  a  mile  even  in  the  dry  season.  By  a  compre¬ 
hensive  system  of  canals  the  Volga  communicates  with 

160 


The  Volga 


161 


the  Arctic  Ocean,  Baltic  Sea,  and  Black  Sea.  The  most 
important  of  these  connections  is  the  one  that  unites  it 
with  Lake  Ladoga,  and  through  that  lake  to  the  Neva 
River  and  St.  Petersburg.  The  Volga  drains  an  area 
of  more  than  a  half  million  square  miles.  It  continues 
to  be  to  a  great  extent  the  principal  route  by  which  the 
products  of  Northern  and  Central  Asia  are  exchanged 
for  those  of  Russia.  In  winter  the  stream  is  congealed 
from  its  source  to  its  mouth.  Traffic  on  the  river  must 
necessarily  sleep,  but  the  frozen  surface  of  the  river  is 
the  favourite  route  of  travellers  who  are  compelled  to 
journey  in  the  season  of  ice  and  snow. 

To  Russia  the  Volga  has  ever  been  of  the  greatest 
importance,  and  it  has  had  an  important  bearing  in  the 
development  of  the  country.  Some  one  has  said  that  the 
history  of  Russia  might  be  resolved  into  the  history  of 
her  four  greatest  rivers.  A  couple  of  centuries  ago  three- 
fourths  of  the  Czar’s  subjects  dwelt  in  the  basin  of  the 
Volga.  This  river  has  moulded  their  character  and 
shaped  their  destinies  in  many  ways.  The  various  mi¬ 
grations  from  Asia  followed  this  waterway,  or  some 
of  its  branches. 

In  the  remote  regions  of  Asia  had  been  gathering  to¬ 
gether  an  immense  host  from  Mongol  tribes.  They  burst 
forth  on  an  astonished  world  from  their  solitudes,  and 
carried  everything  before  them  by  storm.  They  plunged 
into  the  deep  forests  of  the  Volga,  and  said  to  the  Rus¬ 
sian  envoys  sent  to  meet  them,  “  If  you  want  peace,  give 
us  the  tenth  of  your  goods.”  “  When  we  are  dead,”  the 
Russian  princes  replied,  “  you  can  have  the  whole.”  War 
followed  until  nearly  the  whole  of  modern  Russia  was 
gradually  attacked  and  subdued.  Baty  Khan  then  with¬ 
drew  and  established  his  capital  at  Sarai,  on  the  lower 
Volga.  Hither  came  the  Russian  princes  to  pay  tribute 


162  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  solicit  favours  from  this  Eastern  monarch  and  his 
successors.  They  were  often  obliged  to  make  longer 
journeys  to  the  Grand  Khan  himself,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Amur  River.  These  princes  became  simply  the  tax  gath¬ 
erers  for  the  Khans  of  the  Golden  Horde,  as  these  dark- 
skinned  invaders  were  called. 

At  a  later  period  the  European  dependencies  of  the 
Grand  Khan  were  split  up  into  four  khanates,  two  of 
which  were  situated  on  the  Volga  —  Kazan  and  Astra¬ 
khan.  The  Tartar  Khanate  of  Kazan  was  the  strongest 
centre  of  power  of  that  race,  and  they  ruled  the  country 
of  the  Volga  from  Nijni  Novgorod  down  for  a  long 
period.  To-day  the  capitals  of  no  fewer  than  nineteen 
provinces  are  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Volga  and 
its  tributaries.  Before  the  construction  of  railroads 
everything  was  taken  down  the  V olga  to  Astrakhan, 
and  even  to-day  there  is  no  railroad  parallelling  this 
stream,  so  that  its  usefulness  and  importance  are  not  in 
any  way  impaired.  Between  Nijni  and  the  Caspian  Sea 
there  is  only  one  bridge  across  its  waters. 

The  most  impressive  view  of  the  Volga  is  at  Nijni, 
where  it  is  joined  by  the  Oka,  which  is  itself  no  incon¬ 
siderable  stream.  In  spring  the  waters  spread  out  over 
a  vast  area,  and  it  looks  almost  like  an  inland  lake.  Nav¬ 
igation  begins  about  the  middle  of  April,  and  lasts  until 
the  latter  part  of  November.  When  the  ice  breaks  Nijni 
and  the  other  towns  along  the  Volga  awaken  from  their 
long  lethargy  of  the  winter  months.  Thousands  of 
peasants  flock  to  its  shores,  for  employment  is  awaiting 
them  as  long  as  navigation  is  open.  Passenger  and 
freight  steamers  begin  plying  up  and  down  stream,  rafts 
of  wood  and  logs  which  have  been  cut  during  the  winter 
float  down  from  the  forest  sections  above,  and  every¬ 
where  there  is  a  hum  of  industry.  It  reminds  one  of 


The  Volga 


163 


the  lower  Mississippi,  but  at  times  the  movement  of  traf¬ 
fic  on  the  river  seems  even  greater  and  more  animated. 
The  waters  are  churned  into  foam  by  the  paddles  of 
hundreds  of  steamboats. 

It  is  not  so  many  years  since  every  pound  of  freight 
and  every  human  being  simply  floated  down  to  Astra¬ 
khan  with  the  current  or  aided  by  sails.  The  upward 
journey  was  slowly  and  painfully  made  in  tow  of  human 
beasts  of  burden,  the  borlaki,  as  they  are  called.  They 
were  a  class  of  men  noted  for  their  herculean  frames 
and  debased  condition.  Traces  of  the  old  tow  path  are 
still  visible,  and  occasionally  a  light  barge  may  be  seen 
proceeding  up  stream  in  this  primitive  manner.  This 
old  plan  was  later  followed  by  rope  and  capstan,  when 
oxen  were  employed  for  power,  but  this  method  has  also 
yielded  to  the  influence  of  steam.  Now  powerful  tugs 
breast  the  current,  having  in  tow  a  whole  flotilla  of 
barges  and  other  river  craft. 

One  must  disabuse  his  mind  of  the  idea  that  the 
Volga  furnishes  fine  scenery.  It  cannot  be  compared 
with  either  the  Rhine  or  the  Hudson,  and  even  the  Mis¬ 
sissippi  has  a  greater  charm.  And  yet  it  is  not  devoid 
of  beauty.  The  left  bank  on  the  journey  down  is  gen¬ 
erally  flat  and  oftentimes  marshy,  but  the  right  is  high, 
occasionally  well  wooded,  and  possesses  a  certain  degree 
of  picturesqueness.  It  reveals  all  the  characteristic  va¬ 
rieties  of  Russian  landscape  —  great  forests,  black  mould, 
illimitable  steppes,  and  salt-plains.  As  its  mouth  is  ap¬ 
proached  the  banks  become  more  bare,  and  the  channel 
is  interrupted  by  numerous  sand-banks  and  shoals.  There 
are  scores  of  villages  and  thriving  towns  along  the  bank 
from  source  to  mouth,  but  the  distances  between  them 
are  so  great  that  the  intervening  stretch  of  timber  and 
clearings,  steppes  and  plains,  becomes  monotonous.  The 


164  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

main  interest  in  the  trip  is  found  in  the  people  them¬ 
selves,  and  that  is  a  fascinating  study.  After  all  is  said 
and  done,  there  is  nothing  of  greater  interest  to  man¬ 
kind  than  man. 

Travelling  on  the  Volga  is  exceedingly  comfortable. 
There  are  several  lines  of  steamers  that  ply  on  it,  and 
they  manage  to  provide  for  the  traveller  as  well  as  our 
own  lake  or  river  steamers.  They  are  large,  clean,  well- 
built  paddle  boats,  similar  to  those  in  use  on  the  rivers 
of  the  United  States.  One  soon  learns  to  recognize  the 
different  lines,  as  all  their  steamers  will  be  found  built 
on  exactly  the  same  model.  The  cabins  are  spacious, 
and  everything  has  an  aspect  of  cleanliness  about  it  that 
is  extremely  gratifying.  But  do  not  expect  sheets  or 
pillows,  for  every  traveller  is  expected  to  bring  these 
articles  with  him.  If  you  do  not  do  so,  an  extra  charge 
is  made. 

In  a  land  of  good  cooking,  such  as  Russia  is,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  a  place  where  better  meals  can  be 
secured.  You  can  dine  a  la  carte  on  sturgeon,  sterlet,  or 
other  fish,  or  you  can  secure  a  good  table  d'hote  dinner 
for  about  a  dollar.  The  fish  served  are  delicious,  for 
“  Mother  Volga  ”  is  noted  for  her  finny  population.  Or, 
if  one  wishes  to  be  economical,  he  can  forage  for  him¬ 
self  as  the  natives  do,  whenever  the  steamer  stops  at  a 
town.  Each  Russian  passenger  carries  his  own  tea  and 
sugar  in  a  little  bag.  Bread  and  lemons  can  be  pur¬ 
chased  at  any  stopping-place.  Those  who  do  not  carry 
their  own  teapot  can  obtain  one,  together  with  glasses, 
from  the  steward.  Hot  water  is  always  ready  for  a 
small  sum,  so  that  the  Russians  manage  to  pass  the  time 
very  well  between  drinking  tea,  eating,  and  smoking 
cigarettes. 

To  any  one  with  an  observant  eye,  life  is  not  dull. 


VOLGA  STEAMER 


The  Volga 


165 


The  third-class,  or  deck  passengers,  will  be  found  the 
most  interesting.  Here  there  will  be  a  curious  mixture 
of  races.  The  majority  are  sure  to  be  Russian  peasants. 
The  moujik  in  his  red  shirt  and  unkempt  hair  is  free  to 
talk  with  you  and  give  you  his  views  of  life,  if  you  are 
able  to  speak  the  language.  There  will  be  representa¬ 
tives  of  the  Finnish  tribes  that  settled  along  the  Volga 
many  centuries  ago,  but  they  are  not  so  interesting  or 
communicative  as  the  moujik. 

At  Kazan  and  Samara,  a  number  of  Tartars  will  be 
sure  to  come  on  board.  Most  of  them  are  peddlers  or 
small  traders.  The  bundle  which  the  Tartar  brings  on 
board  with  him  is  undoubtedly  his  stock  in  trade,  and 
will  contain  bright-coloured  handkerchiefs,  cotton  prints, 
and  silver  ornaments.  His  dress  will  consist  of  a  capa¬ 
cious  and  greasy  dressing-gown,  and  a  fur  cap  which  he 
wears  regardless  of  temperature.  He  is  never  without 
a  strip  of  carpet  for  a  prayer-rug.  Towards  sunset  all 
the  Mohammedan  passengers  retire  to  a  quiet  part  of 
the  boat  to  recite  their  evening  prayers.  They  kneel, 
stroke  their  beards,  and  prostrate  themselves  in  their 
devotions.  The  tortuous  course  of  the  river  is  awkward 
for  them.  Though  they  kneel  and  look  toward  Mecca  in 
the  beginning  of  their  devotions,  they  may  be  facing 
exactly  the  opposite  direction  before  it  is  over.  When 
a  group  of  Mohammedans  are  going  through  their  devo¬ 
tions  together,  they  keep  time  as  though  they  were  going 
through  some  kind  of  a  gymnasium  drill  under  the  watch¬ 
ful  eye  of  a  drillmaster.  If  it  is  the  time  of  the  fair,  the 
passenger  list  will  be  still  more  varied,  and  Circassians, 
Persians,  Armenians,  and  other  Orientals  will  be  on 
board. 

On  the  river  tugs  towing  monster  rafts  and  strings  of 
huge  barges  are  constantly  passing.  Many  of  the  log 


166  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


rafts  have  little  houses  built  on  them,  which  look  like 
chapels.  Cattle  steamers  full  of  cattle  will  also  be  met. 
If  in  the  dry  months,  men  with  striped  poles  stand  in  the 
bow  at  all  hours  and  measure  the  depth  of  the  water, 
much  as  they  do  on  the  Mississippi.  Most  of  the  stops 
at  the  small  landings  are  very  brief,  but  a  number  of 
villagers  will  be  sure  to  be  down  with  fruits  and  milk, 
and  watermelons  in  abundance,  if  they  are  in  season. 
During  that  time  the  natives  seem  to  be  able  to  live  on 
bread,  tea  and  melons.  Their  capacity  for  this  fruit  will 
compare  very  favourably  with  the  Southern  darkey,  only 
they  are  less  open  in  showing  their  satisfaction. 

In  a  number  of  these  settlements  Germans  will  be  no¬ 
ticed,  who  are  the  descendants  of  colonists  established 
there  a  century  and  a  half  ago.  These  Germans  came  by 
the  personal  invitation  of  Catherine  the  Great.  Upon 
their  arrival  they  were  promised  the  perpetual  right  of 
self-government,  complete  religious  liberty,  and  freedom 
from  military  service.  This  latter  privilege  has  now  been 
withdrawn,  and  many  members  of  a  sect  known  as  Men- 
nonites,  who  are  opposed  to  war,  have  migrated  to  Amer¬ 
ica.  These  German  colonists  still  wear  the  old  German 
costume,  and,  in  almost  every  way,  are  images  of  their 
grandfathers.  If  they  have  not  advanced,  however,  at 
least  they  have  not  retrograded.  All  are  able  to  read  and 
write,  and  in  this  respect  they  are  much  ahead  of  their 
neighbours. 

The  glaring  dome  of  an  Orthodox  church,  the  spire 
of  the  Lutheran  church,  or  the  minaret  of  the  mosque 
will  indicate  the  nationality  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
steamers  are  slow,  and  it  takes  days  to  go  from  Nijni 
to  Astrakhan,  for  the  boat  is  likely  to  have  a  few  ex¬ 
periences  with  sandbars  before  the  journey  is  ended.  In 
the  springtime  the  vessels  steer  almost  a  straight  course 


The  Volga 


167 


from  port  to  port,  for  the  river  is  both  deep  and  wide, 
but,  as  the  water  gradually  lowers,  the  navigation  be¬ 
comes  more  and  more  difficult,  and  the  course  made  at 
one  time  may  not  be  possible  a  week  later.  Vessels  are 
sometimes  stranded  and  delay  follows.  But  the  traveller 
who  is  in  a  hurry  should  not  come  to  Russia. 

A  day’s  journey  from  Nijni  brings  the  traveller  to 
Kazan.  A  great  many  go  to  Kazan  expecting  to  step 
right  into  the  midst  of  an  Oriental  city  and  Oriental  life. 
Such  a  person  will  be  disappointed.  From  a  distance  the 
town,  with  its  walled  Kremlin  and  many  towers,  looks 
quite  enchanting,  but  a  closer  inspection  takes  away  much 
of  the  illusion.  The  miserable  streets  and  refuse  scat¬ 
tered  about  do  not  harmonize  with  picturesqueness.  This 
once  mighty  capital  of  the  khans  is  now  little  more  than 
a  Russian  provincial  town.  The  Tower  of  Sumbeka  is 
probably  the  only  monument  of  the  Tartar  dominion  that 
still  stands.  Ivan  the  Terrible  did  all  he  could  to  oblit¬ 
erate  every  reminder  of  the  Tartar,  and  even  destroyed 
the  tombs  of  the  khans.  Fires  have  done  the  rest.  The 
bazaar  under  the  arcades  and  the  open-air  market  are 
not  different  from  other  Russian  towns. 

The  Tartar  section  of  the  city  has  a  little  more  colour, 
and  its  houses  are  still  built  after  Eastern  models.  In  the 
interior  a  multiplicity  of  carpets  and  the  divans  take  the 
place  of  tables  and  chairs.  The  tiny  little  shops  are  pre¬ 
sided  over  by  dark-complexioned  Tartars,  who  show  by 
their  hue  their  relationship  to  the  Turk.  They  long  ago 
lost  the  wanderlust  of  their  forefathers.  Some  of  them 
are  very  prosperous,  and  they  love  to  go  to  Moscow  or 
St.  Petersburg  occasionally  to  show  their  wealth.  Dressed 
in  their  flowing  robes  of  bright  colours,  with  a  lining  of 
even  a  brighter  shade,  these  rich  Tartars  attract  a  great 
deal  of  attention.  The  women  wear  veils,  but  it  does 


168  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


not  obscure  their  features  like  the  black  masques  worn 
in  most  Mohammedan  countries.  It  is  simply  a  pretence 
at  veiling. 

There  are  a  number  of  mosques  here  in  Kazan,  and 
they  will  attract  even  more  attention  than  the  Russian 
churches.  Five  times  each  day  the  muezzin  ascends  the 
slender  tower  and  calls  the  faithful  to  prayer.  “  God  is 
great !  God  is  good !  ”  says  the  muezzin.  “  There  is 
no  other  God  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is  His  prophet. 
Come  to  prayers.”  The  Tartar  population  as  a  rule  are 
quiet  and  peaceable,  and  they  are  far  cleanlier  than  the 
average  Russian  peasant  of  Great  Russia.  Russia  does 
not  make  any  attempt  to  proselytize  these  Tartars,  but 
woe  be  to  a  Tartar  who  attempts  to  convert  a  Christian 
to  Islamism. 

Kazan  is  an  important  place  on  the  Volga,  as  it  is  near 
the  junction  of  the  Kama  River  with  the  greater  stream. 
The  town  is  some  distance  from  the  quay,  but  is  con¬ 
nected  with  it  by  an  electric  railway.  There  are  many 
factories  in  Kazan,  which  employ  thousands  of  workmen. 
The  chief  manufactures  are  of  Morocco  or  Russian 
leather,  but  there  are  also  soap  works  and  distilleries. 
There  is  an  old  Kremlin,  but  it  does  not  equal  in  interest 
either  that  of  Nijni  or  Moscow.  It  may  be  said  in  pass¬ 
ing  that  the  word  kremlin,  or  kreml,  as  it  is  in  Russian, 
is  a  common  word.  It  simply  means  the  citadel,  and 
nearly  all  of  the  old  towns  had  a  kreml,  or  fortified  sec¬ 
tion.  There  is  a  university,  which  is  rather  noted  for 
its  faculty  of  Eastern  languages,  and  many  well-known 
names  have  been  enrolled  as  students  on  its  roster.  Dur¬ 
ing  the  Tartar  occupation  Kazan  was  known  as  an  edu¬ 
cational  centre,  and  was  a  great  seat  of  Oriental  learning. 
Its  nobles  were  men  of  learning  and  culture. 

The  Kama  River  joins  the  Volga  just  a  little  distance 


169 


The  Volga 

below  Kazan.  It  has  been  the  principal  outlet  for  the 
provinces  of  Ufa  and  Perm,  and  a  part  of  Viatka,  with 
their  large  population.  It  is  a  fine,  deep  and  swift-run¬ 
ning  stream  of  twelve  hundred  miles  or  more  in  length. 
It  passes  through  a  region  of  fine  timber,  and  at  its 
source  in  the  Ural  Mountains  there  is  much  mineral 
wealth.  The  flat  monotony  of  surface  presented  by  the 
Volga  disappears  in  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Kama. 
Agriculture  has  now  followed  the  wood  chopper  in  many 
places.  Two  rather  primitive  Finnish  tribes,  the  Votiaks 
and  the  Tcherimis,  dwell  in  the  upper  basin  of  the  Kama. 
Ekaterinburg  is  one  of  the  most  important  cities  in  this 
section  of  the  Empire.  It  is  a  much  more  prosperous 
town  than  one  would  expect  to  find  in  its  remote  location. 
The  whole  population  are  dependent  on  the  mines,  of 
which  it  is  the  centre.  Every  one  seems  to  be  a  dealer 
in  precious  stones,  for  many  women  have  been  made 
happy  by  the  stones  found  in  the  vicinity  of  Ekaterin¬ 
burg. 

Samara,  still  farther  down  the  river,  is  likewise  a  busy 
place.  It  has  the  advantage  of  being  a  station  on  the 
Trans-Siberian  Railway.  In  the  olden  days  Samara  was 
one  of  the  outposts  of  Russian  civilization,  and  had  to 
be  constantly  on  guard  against  the  raids  of  hostile  tribes 
living  in  the  vicinity.  It  is  the  chief  market  of  this  vicin¬ 
ity,  and  great  quantities  of  grain  are  marketed  here.  Rut 
the  greatest  life  is  along  the  wharves,  where  there  is 
much  shipping.  Although  several  centuries  old,  Samara 
impresses  one  as  being  comparatively  new,  for  its  growth 
has  been  recent. 

Near  Samara  are  some  noted  kumys  establishments, 
where  the  celebrated  kumys  cure  is  administered.  Ku¬ 
mys  is  a  preparation  made  from  the  milk  of  mares,  and 
thousands  of  these  animals  are  pastured  near  these  estab- 


170  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


lishments.  The  milk  is  fermented  by  throwing  some 
“  ferment  ”  in  the  fresh  milk.  Great  claims  are  made  for 
the  curative  properties  of  the  kumys  in  the  treatment  of 
certain  disorders.  It  is  especially  valuable,  so  it  is  said, 
in  complaints  that  are  due  to  imperfect  nutrition.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  plume-grass  which  grows  in  the  vicinity 
of  Samara  is  especially  rich  in  certain  qualities,  and  that 
the  milk  produced  by  this  pasturage  is  more  valuable. 
The  kumys  is  also  made  by  specialists,  —  Tartars, — 
and  all  the  employees  are  of  that  nationality.  It  is  not 
such  a  disagreeable  concoction  to  drink,  but  when  given 
as  an  exclusive  diet,  as  it  is  in  these  establishments,  it 
becomes  rather  a  task  to  consume  the  daily  quantity  pre¬ 
scribed. 

About  seventy  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Volga, 
situated  on  an  island,  is  the  city  of  Astrakhan.  It  is 
surrounded  by  salt-impregnated  flat  land,  and  the  town 
is  protected  by  dykes.  Like  all  Russian  towns,  Astra¬ 
khan  is  well  provided  with  Orthodox  churches,  whose 
domes  and  cupolas  give  it  an  imposing  appearance.  But 
there  are  likewise  Armenian,  Lutheran  and  Mohamme¬ 
dan  places  of  worship  in  this  cosmopolitan  city.  The 
earlier  cities  that  dominated  this  region,  Sarai  and  old 
Astrakhan,  and  which  were  also  in  the  delta  of  the 
Volga,  have  disappeared,  and  this  new  Russian  town  has 
risen  in  their  place.  It  has  had  an  eventful  career,  as 
it  has  been  exposed  to  many  attacks  because  situated  so 
far  from  the  seat  of  authority.  The  rulers  of  Turkestan 
and  the  turbulent  Cossacks  have  alike  disturbed  its  re¬ 
pose.  The  Astrakhan  of  to-day  is  purely  a  commercial 
city,  and  is  the  centre  of  the  Caspian  trade.  It  possesses 
a  curiously  mixed  and  diversified  population. 

Astrakhan  is  one  of  the  greatest  marts  in  the  world 
for  fish  and  fish  products.  Huge  barges  of  dried  and 


The  Volga 


171 


smoked  fish  are  sent  up  the  river,  with  the  fish  piled  up 
like  cordwood.  The  principal  industry  is  the  sturgeon 
fishing,  for  the  Volga  is  the  most  noted  haunt  of  this 
noble  fish.  Thousands  of  men  live  on  boats,  much  like 
the  Chinese  near  Canton.  The  sturgeon,  which  is  the 
largest  of  fresh  water  fish,  is  found  in  this  river  from 
its  source  to  the  Caspian  Sea.  The  latter  sometimes 
yields  gigantic  sturgeon,  running  up  as  high  as  twelve 
hundred  pounds,  and  a  length  of  twenty-four  feet. 
There  are  two  busy  fishing  seasons.  The  first  is  in  the 
spring  when  the  ice  is  breaking,  as  they  are  then  going 
up  the  stream  to  spawn.  This  is  the  richest  season, 
for  it  yields  the  caviar  of  which  the  Russians  are  so 
fond. 

All  probably  know  that  caviar  is  made  from  the  roe 
of  fish.  Sometimes  a  third  of  the  fish  consists  of  roe, 
a  single  fish  having  been  calculated  to  yield  three  million 
eggs.  The  roe  is  separated  from  its  adherent  tissue, 
beaten  through  a  sieve,  placed  in  tubs  with  salt,  and  then 
packed  for  storage  or  export.  Sometimes  it  is  salted, 
sun-dried,  and  then  pressed  into  barrels.  It  is  also  eaten 
fresh,  and  that  form  is  the  most  expensive.  In  that  case 
the  eggs  are  cleansed  and  passed  through  a  sieve.  Al¬ 
though  the  caviar  from  the  sturgeon  is  popular,  that  of 
the  sterlet,  a  much  smaller  fish,  is  the  most  prized.  Fly¬ 
ing  camps  of  fishermen  follow  the  fish  in  their  migrations 
up  and  down  the  river,  the  second  migration  occurring 
just  before  the  river  freezes.  Some  of  the  fish  are  too 
late  and  get  penned  up  in  pools.  There  they  hibernate 
by  burying  their  snouts  in  the  mud,  while  their  bodies 
rise  upward  in  the  water.  The  ice  is  broken  by  the  fish¬ 
ermen  and  the  fish  are  speared.  During  the  winter  sea¬ 
son  they  are  pursued  in  the  Caspian.  They  are  taken  by 
hooks,  with  a  net,  and  by  harpooning  —  from  the  shore 


172  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

and  in  boats  large  and  small.  It  is,  in  truth,  an  enormous 
industry,  employing  many  thousands. 

The  plains  near  the  mouth  of  the  Volga  are  Asiatic 
in  character.  The  soil  is  sandy  or  saline,  and  the  herbage 
is  scanty  or  coarse.  On  them  still  live  wandering  tribes, 
which  are  the  remnants  of  the  famous  marauders  that 
came  from  Asia.  Most  of  them  have  never  yielded  to 
agriculture,  but  still  live  entirely  from  their  herds. 
Among  these  will  be  found  Bashkirs  and  Kirghiz.  These 
two  tribes  are  closely  allied,  both  being  Mongolian,  but 
they  differ  in  language  and  physiognomy.  They  are  also 
Mohammedans,  but  not  of  the  strictest  sort.  The  Bash¬ 
kirs  hire  Russian  peasants  to  farm  for  them,  as  their 
territory  is  better  suited  to  agriculture.  They  still  use 
camels  as  their  beasts  of  burden  and  farm  animals.  One 
may  occasionally  see  modern  agricultural  machinery 
drawn  by  camels,  for  these  people  still  maintain  large 
herds  of  these  ships  of  the  desert. 

The  Kirghiz  disdain  such  a  yielding  to  modernism. 
They  still  live  in  haystack-shaped  tents,  according  to 
Wallace,  and  a  traveller  there  would  scarcely  be  aware 
that  he  was  not  in  some  remote  corner  of  Asia.  To  the 
southwest  of  the  lower  Volga  dwell  the  Kalmyks,  an¬ 
other  Asiatic  tribe,  who  are  worshippers  of  Buddha. 
They  are  a  very  repulsive-looking  race.  One  writer  says 
that  they  are  “  infra-human  in  their  ugliness ;  it  is  diffi¬ 
cult,  when  we  meet  them  for  the  first  time,  to  believe  that 
a  soul  lurks  behind  their  expressionless,  flattened  face.s.” 
Nothing  can  induce  them  to  settle  down  permanently  in 
one  spot.  But  they  are  not  so  inhuman  as  they  look,  for 
foreigners  have  lived  among  them  for  months  without 
any  danger  befalling  them. 

Of  all  the  cities  of  the  Volga,  however,  Nijni  Nov¬ 
gorod  is  the  most  interesting.  Furthermore,  many  to 


NIJNI  NOVGOROD  AND  THE  VOLGA,  FROM  THE  KREMLIN 


The  Volga 


173 


whom  the  names  of  the  other  Volga  towns  are  unknown, 
are  familiar  with  the  name  of  Nijni.  It  is  only  a  night’s 
ride  by  rail  from  Moscow,  and  is  thus  near  the  centre 
of  Russia.  Next  to  Kiev,  Nijni  is  probably  the  most 
picturesque  city  of  Russia,  and  reminds  one  somewhat  of 
the  Rhineland.  It  is  also  very  old,  for  it  was  founded 
in  1220,  by  one  of  the  independent  princes  of  Muscovy, 
as  a  bulwark  against  the  invasion  of  the  Mongol  tribes. 
It  really  consists  of  three  towns,  the  new  town,  where 
the  fair  is  held,  and  the  upper  and  lower  towns,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Oka.  Across  the  Oka  from  the  side 
that  one  arrives  by  railroad  is  the  old  city,  with  its  Krem¬ 
lin  crowning  the  summit  of  the  promontory  that  lies 
between  the  two  rivers.  The  main  business  streets  lie 
below  the  Kremlin,  nearer  the  river,  but  houses  rise  up, 
terrace  fashion,  clear  to  the  top,  where  the  principal 
hotels  are  also  located. 

The  Kremlin  must  have  been  a  formidable  fortress  at 
one  time  —  even  more  so  than  the  better  known  one  at 
Moscow  —  for  it  offered  an  ideal  lookout  over  the  sur¬ 
rounding  flat  country.  Here  the  Khans  of  Kazan  fought 
for  entrance  on  more  than  one  occasion.  To-day  it  fur¬ 
nishes  one  a  splendid  view  of  this  busy  town.  The  walls, 
from  sixty  to  ninety  feet  high  in  places,  and  eleven  out 
of  its  thirteen  towers,  are  still  intact.  It  is  a  large  en¬ 
closure,  and  contains  the  Cathedral  of  the  Transfigura¬ 
tion  and  several  other  churches,  as  well  as  other  relig¬ 
ious  relics  and  patriotic  monuments.  Far  below  at  one 
side  spreads  the  Volga,  with  great  white  steamers  com¬ 
ing  and  going  at  the  wharves.  At  another  side  busy 
little  ferry-boats  dart  across  the  Oka  to  the  “  fair  ”  city. 
The  gilded  domes  of  churches  rise  here  and  there  and 
give  an  Oriental  tinge  to  the  scene.  Far  away  along  the 
left  bank  of  the  Volga  stretches  a  broad  plain  in  an  un- 


174  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


broken  line,  except  by  forest,  to  where  it  meets  the  hori¬ 
zon  in  the  distance.  From  northwest  to  southeast,  like 
a  broad  ribbon,  lies  the  V olga.  It  is  not  difficult  to  see 
why  this  site  was  chosen  as  a  place  of  defence  centuries 
ago,  and  a  reading  of  history  soon  convinces  one  of  the 
important  part  Nijni  has  played  in  the  development  of 
the  country. 

Nijni  has  also  had  its  tragedies.  In  a  monastery  that 
can  be  seen  is  a  book  with  the  names  of  those  who  are 
to  be  permanently  prayed  for.  Among  these  are  several 
hundred  former  citizens  of  Nijni,  whom  Ivan  the  Ter¬ 
rible  caused  to  be  executed,  and  then  ordered  their  souls 
to  be  prayed  for  in  perpetuity.  To-day  Nijni  is  a  com¬ 
mercial  town  of  about  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  wharves  are  always  busy  places,  with  a  veritable 
forest  of  masts  at  times,  and  it  is  one  of  the  great  fish 
markets  of  the  country. 

But  it  is  the  fair  —  the  Nijagorodakaya  Yarmarka  — 
for  which  Nijni  is  famous.  Two  or  three  centuries  ago 
the  great  fairs  were  of  the  highest  commercial  impor¬ 
tance  all  over  Europe.  Merchants  would  wander  from 
fair  to  fair  until  their  goods  were  disposed  of.  The 
precursor  of  this  fair  was  established  by  Ivan  III,  four 
centuries  ago,  but  its  location  has  been  twice  changed. 
The  fair  opens  officially  on  the  15th  day  of  July,  and 
closes  on  the  25th  of  August.  In  fact,  the  merchants 
arrive  long  before  the  opening  date  and  remain  after  the 
official  closing,  so  that  the  fair  practically  lasts  two 
months.  As  the  time  for  the  opening  of  the  fair  ap¬ 
proaches,  barges  loaded  with  wood,  hides,  tallow,  pelts, 
etc.,  come  to  Nijni  from  every  direction,  while  the  rail¬ 
road  brings  in  the  manufactured  articles  which  will  be 
exchanged  for  these  raw  materials.  Articles  are  packed 
up  and  shipped  here  from  almost  every  city  in  Europe, 


THE  LOWER  TOWN,  NIJNI  NOVGOROD 


THE  KREMLIN,  NIJNI  NOVGOROD 


The  Volga 


175 


and  these  imported  goods  will  generally  be  found  on  the 
lower  floor  of  the  governor’s  house. 

The  “  fair  ”  city  is  on  the  far  bank  of  the  Oka.  It  is 
a  large  city  of  substantial  stone  and  brick  shops  and  cob¬ 
bled  streets.  For  ten  months  of  the  year  it  is  a  deserted 
city,  being  as  devoid  of  life  as  a  place  could  be  in  the 
midst  of  a  desert.  The  other  two  months  it  is  the  centre 
of  as  busy  a  life  as  could  be  found  in  any  part  of  Eu¬ 
rope.  Through  the  centre  runs  a  broad  boulevard,  and 
almost  in  the  centre  is  a  large  three-story,  terra-cotta 
coloured  building,  the  Glavny  Dom,  which  is  the  admin¬ 
istration  building.  Here  the  governor  lives  during  the 
fair,  and  the  official  business  is  carried  on  from  it.  The 
ground  is  low  and  often  submerged  in  the  spring,  which 
does  great  damage.  The  drainage  system  is  flooded 
every  night,  and  purifying  fires  are  kept  burning  from 
ventilation  towers.  The  sanitary  conditions  are  probably 
as  good  as  they  can  be,  owing  to  the  location.  Pictur¬ 
esqueness  has  in  some  measure  been  sacrificed  in  recent 
years  in  the  interest  of  cleanliness. 

At  the  opening  ceremony,  flags  are  hoisted  all  over 
the  city,  while  processions  of  priests  with  crosses  and 
Sacred  icons  pass  through  the  streets.  Squads  of  police 
arrive  from  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg,  and  the  gov¬ 
ernor  of  the  province  is  invested  with  the  same  powers 
as  in  martial  law.  Cigarette  smoking  is  strictly  prohib¬ 
ited,  for  millions  of  dollars’  worth  of  goods  are  stored 
in  the  city.  The  wisdom  of  this  precaution  is  seen  in 
a  walk  or  drive  over  the  city.  As  the  Russians  must 
smoke,  however,  little  smoking-huts  are  provided  at  in¬ 
tervals.  Every  hole  and  cranny  is  literally  crammed  with 
some  sort  of  merchandise.  The  Russians  call  the  fair 
the  Makary,  because  prior  to  1824  it  was  held  in  the 
town  of  that  name,  where  the  monastery  of  St.  Makary 


176  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


is  situated.  The  value  of  goods  exchanged  in  the  two 
months  is  almost  two  hundred  million  dollars.  Occi¬ 
dental  methods  are  in  a  measure  taking  the  place  of  those 
that  have  been  in  vogue.  Although  the  picturesqueness 
has  in  a  great  measure  disappeared,  the  volume  of  busi¬ 
ness  is  probably  as  great  as  it  ever  was,  for  larger  deals 
are  made.  Most  business  is  done  on  a  year’s  credit.  The 
goods  sold  one  year  are  not  expected  to  be  paid  for  until 
the  following  season.  Nothing  was  formerly  sold  by 
sample,  but  all  goods  were  ready  for  delivery,  whether 
a  small  or  a  large  order.  Sales  by  sample,  however,  have 
been  increasing  rapidly  in  recent  years.  The  price  of  the 
caravan  tea  and  many  other  articles  is  practically  set  for 
the  coming  year  at  this  fair. 

All  the  large  firms  of  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg 
have  shops  here  at  the  Nijni  fair,  and  you  can  buy  al¬ 
most  anything  that  you  could  in  either  of  those  cities. 
Fancy  articles  from  Paris  will  be  found  side  by  side  with 
silks  from  Persia  or  Bokhara,  and  jewel-hilted  knives 
and  daggers  from  the  Caucasus  will  be  for  sale  near  cot¬ 
ton  goods  from  Manchester.  Kodaks  and  graphophones 
would  not  be  difficult  to  find.  Skins  and  furs  from  Si¬ 
beria  form  an  important  item  of  the  trade  here,  and  they 
are  chiefly  bought  up  by  German  merchants.  It  is  an 
expensive  place  to  live  at  this  time,  for,  like  a  summer 
resort,  the  hotels  and  landlords  have  to  make  in  two 
months  the  profit  for  the  entire  year.  Almost  every 
householder  seems  to  rent  rooms.  Some  of  them,  where 
the  Orientals  swarm,  are  about  as  filthy  and  dirty  as 
could  well  be  imagined.  All  kinds  of  amusements 
abound,  and  the  dancing-places  are  especially  popular. 

The  different  nationalities  bring  their  own  manners 
and  customs  with  them.  Much  of  the  picturesqueness  in 
dress  of  the  fair  has  no  doubt  disappeared,  for  each  prov- 


The  Volga 


177 


ince  at  one  time  had  its  own  costumes  which  nearly  every 
peasant  wore.  But  colour  and  costume  will  still  be  seen. 
You  will  begin  to  realize  that  Russia  is  a  land  where 
Europe  and  Asia  meet  and  blend.  Tartars,  in  their  cos¬ 
tumes  still  abound,  and  thousands  of  the  costly  furs 
caught  in  Siberia  are  annually  marketed  by  these  shrewd 
merchants.  The  richness  of  the  merchant  can  frequently 
be  determined  by  the  number  of  khalati  worn  by  him. 
This  garment  is  a  sort  of  dressing-gown  with  wide 
sleeves,  which  is  girded  about  the  waist  by  a  shawl  that 
is  oftentimes  gorgeous  in  its  colouring. 

Turbaned  Persians  may  be  seen  squatting  in  their 
little  bazaars  much  the  same  as  they  do  in  Teheran  itself. 
Some  of  these  swarthy  fellows,  with  black  hair  and  thick 
moustache,  are  almost  villainous  in  appearance.  There 
are  Armenians  who  seem  to  be  a  cross  between  the  Jew 
and  Persian.  Bokharians  in  red  robes  and  gorgeous 
turbans,  and  Circassians  in  black  robes  but  glittering  with 
cartridge  belts  and  silver-mounted  daggers,  add  to  the 
variety.  Then  there  is  a  Chinese  quarter  without  any 
Chinese  in  it,  although  there  is  an  attempt  at  the  pagoda 
style  of  architecture.  The  only  real  thing  to  justify  the 
name  is  the  fact  that  the  tea  sold  here  was  brought  over¬ 
land  from  China.  This  tea  is  packed  up  in  huge  piles 
under  tarpaulin  and  is  classified  according  to  the  differ¬ 
ent  forms  in  which  it  arrives.  Thus  “  leather  tea  ”  is 
sent  in  boxes  sewed  up  in  hides  with  the  hair  inside.  A 
tour  of  the  restaurants,  of  which  there  are  specimens 
suited  to  all  classes  and  all  tastes,  would  show  samples 
of  these  nationalities  as  well  as  other  races  or  tribes. 


CHAPTER  X 


FINLAND  AND  THE  FINNS 


A  Democratic  People  —  A  Water-logged  Land  —  Hogland  —  Forests  — 
Russian  Tyranny  —  Viborg  —  Falls  of  Imatra  —  Saima  Canal  — 
Nyslot  —  Kuopio  —  Helsingfors  —  Sveaborg  —  University — Woman 
Suffrage  —  Art  and  Literature  —  Kale vala  —  Abo  —  Tammerfors. 

“  What  do  you  know  about  Finland?  ” 

If  the  average  reader  were  asked  this  question,  he 
would  be  obliged  to  say  that  he  knew  very  little.  He 
probably  associates  the  Finns  with  the  Laplanders  or 
Esquimaux.  Few  persons  are  aware  that  the  Finns  are 
of  Mongolian  descent,  and,  as  such,  are  first  cousins  of 
the  Alagyar  of  Hungary  and  distant  cousins  of  the  Turk. 
They  were  among  the  earliest  of  the  races  to  cross  the 
Urals  and  descend  upon  the  fertile  plains  of  Russia. 
They  were  gradually  driven  by  successive  waves  of  im¬ 
migration  to  the  north.  Like  the  Celts  they  were  never 
able  to  establish  an  independent  and  united  state  capable 
of  resisting  pressure  from  Teuton,  Slav  or  Turk.  In 
the  twelfth  century  they  were  brought  under  the  sway 
of  the  roving  Vikings.  We  read  that  King  Eric  organ¬ 
ized  a  crusade  to  convert  the  heathen  Finns,  and  to 
annex  their  territory  to  Sweden.  The  right-hand  man 
in  this  crusade  was  Bishop  Henry,  and  he  is  Finland  s 
patron  saint  to  this  day. 

Although  Finland  has  never  had  a  national  flag,  but 
has  been  buffeted  about  between  Sweden  and  Russia,  the 
people  have  preserved  their  own  national  characteristics, 

178 


Finland  and  the  Finns 


179 


and  have  evolved  almost  a  democracy.  In  a  desolate  and 
water-logged  land,  in  a  severe  northern  climate,  has 
grown  up  a  hardy  and  virile  race.  Perhaps  it  was  be¬ 
cause  only  the  sturdiest  could  survive  under  such  condi¬ 
tions,  for  isolation  bred  self-reliance  and  industry  was 
necessary  to  existence.  At  any  rate  the  fact  remains 
that  the  Finns  have  developed  a  civilization  that  is  unique 
and  well  worth  our  while  to  study  for  a  moment. 

Most  people  think  of  Finland  as  a  land  of  snow  and 
ice.  Such  it  is  for  six  months  in  the  year.  For  three 
months  it  is  so  hot  that  the  wealthy  residents  seek  sum¬ 
mer  resorts  for  comfort.  During  that  time  it  is  prac¬ 
tically  one  long  day.  Not  a  star  is  to  be  seen,  and  the 
appearance  of  the  first  star  is  a  sign  that  summer  is  past 
and  the  time  of  autumn  frosts  has  arrived.  These  long 
days  with  scarcely  any  night  force  vegetation  to  grow 
at  a  hothouse  pace.  Land  and  water  have  no  time  to 
cool.  The  woods  have  a  thick  undergrowth  of  berries. 
Among  these  are  raspberries,  bilberries,  cloud-berries, 
cranberries,  currants  and  strawberries.  The  latter  are  so 
plentiful  that  it  has  been  called  “  strawberry  land.”  They 
are  small,  scarcely  larger  than  a  pea,  but  of  an  extremely 
delicious  flavour.  A  large  dish  of  the  freshly  gathered 
fruit,  with  the  morning  dew  almost  on  them  still,  greets 
you  every  morning  at  the  breakfast  table.  The  peasant 
children  gather  them  early  in  the  morning,  after  which 
they  are  transported  to  town  and  delivered  before  the 
breakfast  hour.  The  people  seem  to  experience  the  joy 
of  a  captive  released  from  a  dungeon.  They  live  in  the 
open  like  a  primitive  race.  On  Saturdays  and  Sundays 
there  is  a  general  exodus  of  picnic  parties  to  the  nearer 
islands  and  woods.  Great  hampers  of  provisions  are 
taken  along,  and  every  one  is  bent  on  enjoying  himself 
or  herself. 


180  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Finland,  or  Suomi,  as  they  call  it,  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  sections  of  Russia.  It  is  a  state  within  an 
empire.  The  Finns  object  to  being  called  Russians,  and 
they  speak  of  Russia  as  of  a  foreign  country.  It  is  not 
a  small  land,  as  European  kingdoms  go,  for  it  is  larger 
than  the  British  Isles,  and  two  and  a  half  times  as  ex¬ 
tensive  as  New  England.  The  greatest  distance  in  a 
straight  line  is  almost  seven  hundred  miles.  It  is  in  the 
latitude  of  Greenland.  At  least  one-ninth  of  Finland  is 
covered  with  lakes,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  rest  is 
forest.  When  the  glaciers  ploughed  Finland  they  formed 
the  various  lake  systems,  and  scattered  the  huge  granite 
rocks  that  strew  the  land.  Less  than  one  acre  in  thirty 
of  the  surface  of  the  country  is  arable,  but  a  somewhat 
larger  amount  is  fit  for  grazing.  Some  one  has  described 
it  as  a  great  granite  plateau,  slowly  rising  out  of  the 
sea,  and  still  water-logged  over  a  great  portion  of  its 
surface. 

The  most  of  Finland  is  fairly  level,  so  that  it  has  not 
the  grandeur  of  Scandinavia  or  Switzerland.  It  would 
not  attract  Alpine  climbers.  But  it  has  the  beauty  af¬ 
forded  by  pine  forest,  rock,  river  and  lake.  The  typical 
landscape  is  where  all  these  elements  enter  into  its  com¬ 
position  in  equal  prominence.  Sometimes  the  forest  pre¬ 
dominates,  and  again  it  is  the  lake.  The  only  natural 
wealth  of  the  country  is  the  timber  and  the  finest  of 
granite.  At  present  the  timber  is  used  principally  for 
firewood,  but  its  value  for  building  purposes  and  paper 
pulp  is  bound  to  increase  as  the  years  go  by. 

The  entire  coast  of  Finland  is  lined  with  innumerable 
small,  rocky  islands.  Some  of  them  rise  above  the  surface 
of  the  wTater  like  rounded  shoulders  of  black  granite. 
Here  and  there  stands  a  single  fir  tree  like  a  sentinel,  and 
occasionally  a  few  dwarf  pines  or  stunted  bushes  afford 


181 


Finland  and  the  Finns 

a  patch  of  green.  Landward  may  be  seen  a  stretch  of 
forest  which  may  easily  be  taken  for  the  mainland,  but 
a  nearer  approach  shows  that  it  is  but  a  labyrinth  of 
islands  thickly  covered  with  firs  and  pines.  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  southern  coast,  along  the  shore  of 
the  Gulf  of  Finland.  The  islands  are  so  numerous  that 
the  steamer  sometimes  seems  to  be  cut  off  from  an  outlet, 
but  one  is  always  found.  In  a  way,  the  scenery  resembles 
the  Thousand  Islands  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  Geor¬ 
gian  Bay  district  of  Lake  Huron.  The  southern  coast 
of  Chile  is  very  similar  also,  except  that  on  the  shore 
there  is  the  southern  range  of  the  lofty  Andes. 

Hogland  is  an  island  about  twenty-six  miles  out  at 
sea,  a  huge  mass  of  porphyry,  granite  and  greenstone. 
It  is  about  seven  miles  long  by  two  miles  broad,  and 
contains  a  population  of  about  eight  hundred.  The 
porphyry  for  the  tomb  of  Napoleon  in  Paris  was  se¬ 
cured  here.  One  of  the  Aland  islands,  on  the  south¬ 
western  coast,  is  likewise  the  home  of  a  brave  and  daring 
fisher-folk,  who  seem  born  to  the  sea. 

In  the  northeastern  part  of  St.  Petersburg,  in  what 
is  known  as  the  Viborg  quarter,  is  the  station  of  the 
Finland  State  Railway.  It  really  seems  like  a  foreign 
spot,  for  baggage  is  often  examined  here,  although  the 
real  frontier  is  at  Terijoki,  about  thirty  miles  distant. 
One  soon  discovers  that  Finland  is  a  land  of  pine-clad 
hills,  for  only  a  comparatively  small  portion  seems  to 
be  cleared.  But  here  the  trees  are  not  thick,  and  look 
as  though  they  were  second  or  even  third  growth.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  only  trees  that  have  reached  a  certain 
girth  are  felled.  In  each  forest  but  a  fixed  number  of 
trees  are  cut  each  year,  so  that  young  trees  are  contin¬ 
ually  growing  up  to  take  their  places. 

In  the  cleared  portions  stand  neat  little  wooden  cot- 


182  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


tages,  which  are  usually  kept  freshly  painted,  red  being 
the  favourite  colour.  Surface  drain  ditches  are  made  in 
the  cultivated  fields  every  few  rods,  and  all  seems  most 
carefully  tilled.  In  this  respect  one  notices  the  difference 
between  Finland  and  the  mother  country.  One  peculiar 
sight  is  the  hay  fields  with  their  rows  of  long  posts  bris¬ 
tling  with  branches  like  hat-pegs.  The  freshly  cut  hay 
is  hung  on  these  posts  so  that  the  air  can  play  through 
it,  and  the  hay  quickly  dries.  The  fields  are  likewise 
enclosed  by  neat  wooden  palisades. 

These  differences  are  not  all,  however,  for  everything 
is  disparate.  The  Russian  officials  practically  ignore  the 
existence  of  other  languages  than  Russian.  In  Finland 
there  are  two  languages,  Finnish  and  Swedish.  There 
has  always  been  a  rivalry  between  the  partisans  of  the  two 
tongues.  But  the  Finnish  has  been  gradually  gaining  in 
popularity,  although  a  ukase  of  1900,  prescribing  the  use 
of  the  Russian  tongue  in  all  official  matters,  was  a  great 
shock  to  the  Finns.  One  will  find  all  street  signs  and 
public  notices  in  three  languages,  Finnish,  Swedish  and 
Russian,  for  the  latter  is  required  by  law.  In  the  railway 
trains  of  the  Finnish  State  Railways  all  notices  are 
printed  in  six  languages,  Finnish,  Swedish,  Russian, 
German,  French  and  English.  It  is  the  only  place  in 
Russia  where  an  appeal  is  actually  made  for  the  great 
army  of  tourists  who  annually  travel  over  Europe.  The 
church  is  non-Orthodox,  for  about  ninety-eight  per  cent, 
of  the  people  are  Lutherans.  The  Russian  calendar  is 
ignored  as  well  as  Russian  letters.  The  uniforms  of  the 
police  are  German. 

One  of  the  privileges  of  Finland  has  always  been  the 
coining  of  its  own  money.  The  Finnish  mark  is  of  the 
same  value  as  the  franc,  and  is  divided  into  a  hundred 
pennis.  This  coinage  has  just  recently  been  suspended 


Finland  and  the  Finns 


183 


by  order  from  St.  Petersburg,  and  the  rouble  will  grad¬ 
ually  replace  the  mark.  Finland  used  to  have  its  own 
postage  stamps,  but  this  privilege  was  taken  away.  For 
a  while  the  people  adopted  a  black  mourning  stamp,  which 
they  placed  side  by  side  with  the  Russian,  until  a  letter 
thus  adorned  was  refused  mailing.  The  strictures  re¬ 
garding  passports  are  dropped,  and  one  can  move  freely 
about  the  country  without  having  a  demand  for  them. 
Finland  likewise  has  its  own  customs,  which  are  much 
lower  than  in  Russia,  and  leads  to  a  great  deal  of  smug¬ 
gling  into  the  latter  country.  The  architecture,  art  and 
customs  all  differ,  although  Russia  is  slowly  but  surely 
trying  to  undermine  things  Finnish. 

When  Finland  was  annexed  to  Russia  it  was  really 
a  union,  and  not  unconditional  surrender.  The  promise 
of  the  preservation  of  her  ancient  rights  made  an  easy 
conquest,  and  stopped  the  uprisings  of  the  peasants.  The 
Czar  took  the  title  of  Grand  Duke  of  Finland,  and 
as  such  he  is  known  to-day.  The  Diet  was  summoned 
to  confirm  the  union  with  Russia,  and  was  officially 
opened  at  Borga  by  Alexander  I.  The  religion  and 
fundamental  laws  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  rights 
of  each  class  of  citizens,  were  officially  recognized  and 
confirmed.  Each  succeeding  ruler  has  signed  the  con¬ 
stitutional  Assurance,  and  issued  a  Manifesto  confirm¬ 
ing  his  act.  On  several  occasions  the  advisers  of  the 
Czar  and  the  panslavic  party  have  counselled  the  abro¬ 
gation  of  the  constitution  of  Finland.  Until  the  time 
of  Alexander  III,  however,  the  Autocrat  remained  im¬ 
movable.  That  sovereign  yielded  a  little,  and  his  suc¬ 
cessor  began  the  process  of  Russification  in  earnest,  re¬ 
gardless  of  his  solemn  promise  at  the  time  of  his  acces¬ 
sion.  The  constitution  is  still  in  effect,  but  the  ominous 
shadows  which  precede  coming  events  have  appeared  on 


184  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

the  horizon.  Thus  far  the  constitution  granted  to  Fin¬ 
land  at  the  time  of  the  union  has  been  preserved  to 
her. 

Until  1898  Finland  had  her  own  army,  which  was 
not  compelled  to  serve  outside  her  own  country.  In 
that  year  the  Czar  informed  the  Diet  that  the  military 
service  must  be  made  to  conform  to  that  of  the  rest  of 
the  Empire.  Finnish  susceptibilities  were  aroused,  as 
this  seemed  but  the  opening  wedge  for  the  destruction  of 
all  their  liberties.  The  people  entered  on  a  campaign  of 
passive  resistance.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  dressed 
in  mourning  on  the  Sunday  succeeding  the  Manifesto. 
Bells  were  tolled  in  the  churches,  and  places  of  amuse¬ 
ment  were  closed.  The  people  assembled  in  Senate 
Square,  and  cast  wreaths  at  the  foot  of  the  statue  of 
Alexander  II,  whom  they  looked  upon  as  a  friend.  A 
petition  signed  by  several  hundred  thousand  was  se¬ 
cured,  from  all  over  the  country,  and  a  deputation  of 
five  hundred  peasants  was  sent  to  St.  Petersburg.  They 
were  not  even  granted  an  audience  by  the  Little  Father. 
Many  thousands  emigrated  to  the  United  States. 

General  Bobrikov,  the  governor-general  at  this  time, 
was  especially  severe  in  his  methods.  Although  the  home 
of  this  official  had  hitherto  been  the  centre  of  the  social 
life  in  Helsingfors,  he  and  his  family  were  practically 
boycotted.  No  Finn  would  cross  his  threshold  unless 
compelled  to  do  so  by  official  business.  All  his  invita¬ 
tions  were  refused  or  ignored.  Bobrikov  was  finally 
shot  in  the  vestibule  of  the  Senate  by  a  young  Finn  of 
noble  family.  The  military  question  was  finally  settled 
by  the  disbanding  of  the  Finnish  army,  and  a  promise 
to  pay  a  fixed  annual  sum  on  account  of  defence  into  the 
Imperial  treasury.  The  freedom  with  which  political 
subjects  are  discussed  in  all  parts  of  Finland  except  Vi- 


THE  FISH  MARKET,  VI  BORG 


Finland  and  the  Finns 


185 


borg  is  astonishing,  and  would  land  the  speaker  in  prison 
at  St.  Petersburg. 

Viborg  is  the  first  Finnish  town  of  any  importance 
after  leaving  St.  Petersburg.  It  is  already  half  Russified, 
as  this  section  of  Finland  has  been  under  Russian  control 
a  century  longer  than  the  rest.  The  town  capitulated  to 
Russian  forces  in  1710,  and  was  for  a  long-time  the  cen¬ 
tre  of  their  administration  for  this  government.  Fur¬ 
thermore,  its  nearness  to  St.  Petersburg,  only  about 
eighty  miles,  and  the  fact  that  thousands  of  soldiers  are 
stationed  here  at  all  times,  has  had  its  influence  on  the 
city.  It  is  the  residence  of  several  officials,  and  the  seat 
of  the  High  Court  of  Appeals.  At  all  times  of  the  day 
the  call  of  the  bugle  may  be  heard,  and  the  tramp,  tramp, 
tramp  of  squads  of  soldiers  in  uniform  will  follow  over 
the  stony  streets.  It  is  a  constant  reminder  to  the  people 
that  they  are  under  the  domination  of  an  alien  race. 

Viborg  is  an  old  city,  and  has  been  the  scene  of  many 
bloody  battles.  The  castle  is  the  most  noted  building, 
and  was  once  the  stronghold  of  powerful  princes,  Finn 
and  Swede.  The  Tower  of  St.  Olaf  rises  above  the 
castle  walls,  and  gives  a  mediaeval  look  to  the  harbour. 
It  is  said  to  have  been  founded  in  1293  by  Torkel  Knut¬ 
son.  As  early  as  1600  this  castle  was  described  as  being 
in  a  ruined  state,  but  it  has  been  greatly  restored  since 
then  and  is  now  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation.  The 
walls  bear  the  mark  of  many  a  siege  and  assault.  To¬ 
day  it  is  simply  a  picturesque  relic  of  the  brave  days  of 
old.  An  excellent  view  of  the  surrounding  country  is 
had  from  the  tower.  It  is  a  vision  of  nothing  but  lakes 
and  trees,  trees  and  lakes  in  every  direction.  In  the 
market-place  is  another  ancient  round  tower,  popularly 
known  as  “  The  Fat  Katerina,”  which  also  formed  a 
part  of  the  fortifications. 


186  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


The  newer  parts  of  Viborg  are  quite  handsome,  the 
centre  of  attraction  being  the  Esplanade,  which  is  even 
more  sightly  than  the  one  at  Helsingfors.  It  occupies 
the  site  of  the  old  walls.  The  harbour  is  very  pretty,  and 
Viborg  does  a  large  business  in  importing  and  exporting. 
The  flags  of  Germany  and  England  may  be  seen  at  the 
docks  almost  any  time  during  the  season  of  navigation. 
Dozens  of  little  steamers  ply  between  here  and  little  ports 
out  on  the  gulf  and  the  many  inlets  which  indent  it. 
Around  Viborg  are  many  summer  homes  of  St.  Peters¬ 
burg  families,  as  it  is  one  of  their  favourite  recreation 
places. 

Not  far  from  Viborg  are  the  noted  Falls  of  Imatra, 
of  which  the  Finlanders  are  very  proud.  They  can  be 
reached  by  rail  in  about  three  hours,  but  the  journey  via 
the  Saima  Canal,  although  consuming  an  entire  day,  is 
far  pleasanter.  This  is  the  greatest  artificial  waterway 
in  Finland,  and  was  completed  in  1854.  It  connects  a 
chain  of  lakes  with  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  In  fact,  it  is 
now  possible  to  travel  almost  all  over  the  country  by 
steamer.  The  whole  length  of  the  Saima  Canal  is  thirty- 
seven  miles,  of  which  seventeen  miles  consist  of  natural 
lakes.  There  are  twenty-eight  locks,  built  of  natural 
granite.  The  canal  is  very  narrow,  and  does  not  afford 
room  enough  for  two  boats  to  pass,  except  at  regular 
intervals  where  it  is  widened  for  that  purpose.  The 
canal  passes  through  a  beautiful  wooded  country,  which 
affords  many  delightful  glimpses  of  Nature  in  her  better 
moods.  There  are  also  a  number  of  summer  villas  sit¬ 
uated  along  it. 

But  what  shall  one  say  of  Imatra?  It  is  certainly  not 
a  waterfall,  as  the  water  only  drops  about  sixty  feet  in 
half  a  mile.  It  is  rather  a  rapids,  or  series  of  rapids,  of 
the  Vuoksi  River.  But  it  is  the  greatest  waterfall  in 


Finland  and  the  Finns 


187 


Finland,  and  some  say  in  Europe.  The  amount  of  water 
that  passes  through  this  comparatively  narrow  channel 
is  enormous,  as  it  is  not  more  than  twenty  yards  across 
in  its  narrowest  place.  And  yet  through  this  narrow 
outlet  passes  the  greater  part  of  the  overflow  from  Fin¬ 
land’s  numerous  lakes  on  their  way  to  Lake  Ladoga. 
The  waters  boil  and  seethe  and  hiss  as  they  swirl  around 
the  rocks  that  impede  their  progress  downward,  forming 
foam-covered  whirlpools  and  eddies  everywhere.  Some¬ 
times  great  columns  of  water  leap  up  from  mid-stream 
twenty  feet  in  the  air,  and  the  sun  forms  rainbows  in 
the  clouds  of  spray  that  rise  with  them.  The  noise  of 
the  waters  resembles  a  storm  among  trees.  The  banks 
are  wooded  with  pines  and  firs  and  the  white  birch,  and 
this,  with  the  beauty  of  the  turmoiled  waters,  and  the 
roar  of  the  cataract,  makes  Imatra  a  place  well  worth  the 
visiting  by  the  tourist  to  Finland. 

From  Imatra  many  pleasant  excursions  may  be  made. 
Here  woodlands  and  water  have  been  inextricably  inter¬ 
woven.  One  can  go  down  the  Vuoksi  to  Lake  Ladoga, 
which  lies  half  in  Russia  and  half  in  Finland.  There  is 
an  endless  variety  in  the  combinations  of  land  and  water, 
trees,  rocks  and  skies.  The  Saima  Lake,  or  “  Lake  of  a 
Thousand  Isles,”  forms  a  magnificent  waterway  reaching 
up  into  the  very  heart  of  Finland.  Comfortable  little 
steamers  provide  excellent  service.  Good  hotels  are  also 
found. 

It  is  a  delightful  trip  through  these  connecting  lakes 
to  Nyslot,  Punkaharju  and  Kuopio.  There  is  very  little 
stretch  of  open  lake,  as  the  diminutive  islands  are  so 
numerous,  and  many  little  capes  or  narrow  ridges  extend 
out  into  the  waters.  Islands  and  mainland  alike  are 
wooded  to  the  water’s  edge.  There  is  splendid  fishing 
in  these  lakes,  while  the  streams  are  alive  with  the  finest 


188  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  salmon  and  trout.  Specimens  of  the  latter  weighing 
seven  pounds  are  not  uncommon.  It  is  almost  a  fisher¬ 
man’s  paradise,  and  both  living  and  travelling  are  inex¬ 
pensive. 

Nyslot  is  built  on  a  number  of  fantastically  shaped 
islands  connected  by  light  wooden  bridges.  The  ancient 
castle  of  Olafsburg,  built  in  1475,  covers  the  whole  of 
one  island.  It  originally  had  five  towers,  of  which  three 
still  stand.  For  several  centuries  the  castle  proved  an 
impassable  barrier  to  Russian  advance.  Punkaharju  is 
only  a  couple  of  hours’  sail  from  Nyslot.  It  is  built  on 
a  narrow  ridge  of  land  jutting  out  into  the  lake.  Still 
another  town  is  Kuopio,  a  tiny  place  of  some  two  thou¬ 
sand  inhabitants.  This  town  is  on  the  northern  verge 
of  civilization.  North  of  there  the  trees  begin  to  dwindle 
into  stunted  birch  and  pine,  until  they  disappear  alto¬ 
gether,  and  are  then  succeeded  by  the  desolate  plains  and 
hills  of  Lapland,  which  stretch  away  to  the  Polar  Seas. 
The  trees  here  are  rich  in  resin,  and  the  preparation  of 
tar  forms  one  of  the  chief  industries.  The  preparation 
of  this  product  is  extremely  primitive. 

A  journey  of  about  seven  hours  by  rail,  through  forest 
and  cleared  land,  across  bog  and  by  lakes,  brings  the 
traveller  to  the  largest  city  in  Finland,  which  is  at  the 
same  time  the  capital  and  the  seat  of  local  government. 
Flelsingfors  is  a  delightful  little  city.  It  has  a  bright 
and  cheery  look  that  one  does  not  expect  in  a  city  so 
far  north.  When  looking  at  the  blue  waters,  green  foli¬ 
age  and  brightly  painted  houses,  it  seems  almost  impos¬ 
sible  to  believe  that  for  four  or  five  months  of  the  year 
the  harbour  is  absolutely  ice-bound.  The  city  is  old,  but 
its  growth  has  been  recent.  A  half  century  ago,  it  was 
only  a  small  seaport  of  about  twenty  thousand  persons. 
Abo  was  the  former  capital,  but  it  was  too  near  Sweden, 


Finland  and  the  Finns  189 


the  ancient  enemy  of  Russia,  so  Helsingfors  was  chosen 
instead  just  a  century  ago.  Since  then  it  has  grown 
very  rapidly,  and  has  now  passed  the  hundred  thousand 
mark.  Because  of  its  newness  there  seems  to  be  no  dirt, 
no  squalor,  and  no  tumble-down  dwellings  of  the  poor. 
If  such  exist,  they  at  least  live  in  comfortable  and  cleanly 
homes.  The  capital  of  Finland  has  not  yet  been  Russian¬ 
ized.  Everything  is  different,  from  the  neat  station- 
master  to  the  hotel  porters  in  their  white  linen  blouses. 
There  is  little  to  remind  one  of  the  nearness  of  the  Czar’s 
empire.  All  of  the  streets  are  spacious,  well  paved  and 
lined  with  fine  stone  buildings  of  modern  architecture. 

Helsingfors  occupies  a  very  pretty  site.  The  best  ap¬ 
proach  is  by  water.  The  steamer  passes  hundreds  of 
little,  thickly-wooded  islands,  on  some  of  which  are  forti¬ 
fications  that  are  almost  hidden.  Because  of  these  numer¬ 
ous  islands  there  are  always  plenty  of  places  to  go  in 
Helsingfors.  One  of  the  favourite  resorts  is  Hogholm, 
a  lovely  little  spot  with  park-like  scenery  and  pretty  gar¬ 
dens.  The  best  known  of  these  is  Sveaborg,  the  “  Gi¬ 
braltar  of  the  Baltic,”  where  several  thousand  soldiers  are 
quartered,  and  almost  a  thousand  guns  are  mounted,  so 
it  is  claimed.  The  fortifications  were  unsuccessfully  at¬ 
tacked  by  the  allies  during  the  Crimean  War.  The  Eng¬ 
lish  alone  are  said  to  have  fired  a  thousand  tons  of  shot 
and  shell  at  this  seemingly  impregnable  fortress.  The 
fortifications  are  built  on  seven  adjacent  islands.  Only 
once  has  Sveaborg  fallen,  and  then  it  surrendered  to  the 
Russians  without  a  blow  struck  in  defence.  Bribery  is 
generally  supposed  to  have  given  this  easy  victory,  for 
it  was  occupied  by  six  thousand  men. 

After  threading  these  adjacent  islands  more  open  water 
is  reached,  and  the  town  of  Helsingfors  comes  into  view. 
The  highest  point  is  crowned  with  the  Lutheran  Church 


190  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  St.  Nicholas,  which  is  large  enough  to  seat  three  thou¬ 
sand  persons.  There  is  nothing  pretty  about  this  struc¬ 
ture  of  white  stone,  but  its  site  is  imposing.  The  church 
is  reached  by  a  wide  approach  of  fifty  steps.  On  the 
next  eminence  stands  the  Russian  Cathedral,  the  Church 
of  the  Assumption,  built  of  red  brick  and  with  the  usual 
gilt  domes.  The  latter  was  constructed  in  1868.  The 
emblem  of  the  faith  of  the  conquerors  will  ever  be  found 
where  Russian  soldiers  are  stationed. 

Helsingfors  is  really  divided  into  three  parts  by  inlets. 
Water  surrounds  it  on  almost  every  side.  It  has  many 
imposing  buildings  for  its  size,  and  the  granite  hills  af¬ 
ford  splendid  building  sites  for  them  all.  The  architec¬ 
ture  has  a  freakish  personality  all  its  own,  which  is  un¬ 
like  the  rest  of  Europe.  There  is  not  only  originality 
but  an  eccentricity  of  effect  in  the  use  of  the  huge  blocks 
of  granite  in  portals  and  pillars,  as  well  as  in  the  ex¬ 
traordinary  decorations.  The  inexhaustible  supply  of 
granite,  which  does  not  lend  itself  readily  to  delicate 
carving,  has  doubtless  had  a  great  influence.  The  effect 
must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated,  as  it  cannot  be  described. 
The  Senate  Square,  immediately  in  front  of  St.  Nicholas 
Church,  is  the  most  impressive  square.  In  the  centre 
rises  an  imposing  statue  to  Alexander  II.  On  one  side 
is  the  Senate  House,  and  on  the  other  is  the  university. 

The  University  of  Helsingfors,  which  has  more  than 
a  passing  interest,  was  originally  founded  in  Abo  in  1640, 
but  in  1829,  when  Abo  was  reduced  to  ashes,  this  insti¬ 
tution  was  removed  to  its  larger  neighbour.  The  first 
woman  matriculated  in  this  university  in  1870,  but  now 
there  are  hundreds  of  them,  and  they  are  taking  the  pro¬ 
fessional  courses  as  well  as  the  regular  studies.  All  over 
the  city  one  will  see  the  students  of  this  really  noted 
university.  They  can  be  recognized  by  the  yachting  cap 


Finland  and  the  Finns 


191 


worn  by  them,  made  of  white  velvet,  and  which  is  donned 
by  both  sexes  in  this  co-educational  institution.  No  one 
can  assume  this  cap  until  he  has  passed  the  matriculation. 
Commencement  day  occurred  during  my  stay  in  Helsing¬ 
fors,  and  upon  the  head  of  each  graduate  was  placed  an 
actual  crown  of  laurels.  It  looked  rather  strange  to  see 
full-grown  men,  with  luxuriant  moustaches,  walking 
around  with  this  floral  crown  upon  their  heads.  It  has 
been  the  custom  for  the  man  to  choose  his  favourite  lady 
to  make  his  wreath,  but  I  did  not  learn  how  the  girl 
graduates  arrange  the  wreaths  for  themselves,  as  the 
average  man  would  not  be  a  success  at  this  art. 

On  the  train  which  bore  me  to  Helsingfors  were  about 
a  score  of  young  men  and  women  who  got  on  at  Viborg. 
Their  friends  had  accompanied  them  to  the  station,  and 
literally  covered  them  with  bouquets  of  the  choicest  roses. 
One  girl,  who  was  either  more  popular,  or  whose  friends 
were  wealthier,  had  the  whole  front  of  her  coat  covered 
with  these  floral  offerings,  and  both  hands  were  full  as 
well.  One  young  man  had  no  fewer  than  a  half  dozen 
bouquets  pinned  on  his  coat.  All  of  these  young  people 
were  students  on  their  way  to  take'  the  entrance  exam¬ 
inations  for  this  university.  It  struck  me  as  being  a  very 
pretty  custom,  but  it  must  be  an  expensive  one,  since  it 
was  before  outdoor  roses  were  in  bloom. 

Through  the  centre  of  Helsingfors  runs  the  Esplanade- 
Gatan,  a  broad  well-shaded  boulevard,  and  this  is  the 
centre  of  the  city’s  life  in  summer.  A  beautifully  kept 
garden  with  smooth  lawns  and  bright  flower-beds  runs 
the  entire  length  of  this  boulevard.  The  summer  days  are 
long,  and  those  who  remain  in  the  city  make  this  prom¬ 
enade  their  headquarters.  The  schools  all  close  for  three 
months,  and  everybody  enjoys  one  long  holiday  in  so 
far  as  possible.  It  is  surprising  how  swiftly  spring 


192  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


comes.  One  day  almost  melts  into  another,  so  that  vege¬ 
tation  grows  continuously.  This  probably  accounts  for 
the  almost  tropical  density  of  the  vegetation.  At  mid¬ 
night  paraders  will  still  be  walking  up  and  down  the 
paths.  The  girls  that  one  sees  in  Helsingfors,  who  are 
probably  Swedish  rather  than  pure  Finnish,  are  ex¬ 
tremely  charming.  They  are  all  decidedly  blondes,  of  the 
blue-eyed,  flaxen-haired  type,  and  the  younger  girls  wear 
their  hair  in  two  flaxen  braids  that  hang  down  the  back. 
As  a  rule  they  are  of  middle  height  and  with  good  fig¬ 
ures.  Chaperons  are  not  needed  or  desired,  and  they 
have  the  same  social  freedom  as  their  sisters  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic. 

There  is  a  restaurant,  The  Kapellet,  situated  among 
the  trees,  where  hundreds  dine  each  day,  and  many  more 
stop  to  drink  beer  or  stronger  drink,  while  a  military 
band  discourses  really  good  music.  In  summer  the  tables 
are  set  out  under  the  trees.  Although  practical  prohi¬ 
bition  is  enforced  in  the  country  districts,  one  can  obtain 
sufficient  liquor  in  the  cities  at  the  restaurants  and  reg¬ 
ular  bars.  The  countryman  must  come  to  the  towns  for 
his  liquors,  and  many  of  them  do.  The  Finlanders  used 
to  be  the  equal  of  any  country  in  their  consumption  of 
alcohol,  but  the  use  of  it  has  steadily  decreased  in  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century.  The  dining-hour  is  early  in 
Finland,  from  three  to  six,  but  the  people  usually  eat 
quite  a  substantial  supper  later  in  the  evening.  Life  in 
Helsingfors  in  the  summer  season  of  the  year  is  delight¬ 
ful  even  for  the  stranger.  The  real  social  season,  how¬ 
ever,  is  in  the  winter.  Then  there  are  sledge  parties, 
ski  contests,  skating  tournaments  and  trotting  races  on 
the  ice.  In  Finland  skating  is  a  national  pastime,  almost 
as  much  so  as  in  Norway  or  Sweden. 

The  market  of  Helsingfors  is  a  characteristic  institu- 


WATER  FRONT,  HELSINGFORS 


Finland  and  the  Finns  103 


tion.  It  is  held  on  a  large  open  space  on  the  water-front. 
From  all  over  the  surrounding  country  the  peasants  drive 
into  the  town  with  their  produce,  and  sell  it  direct  to  the 
townsfolk.  A  small  farmer  may  have  killed  a  sheep  or 
pig,  and  may  be  observed  driving  a  keen  bargain  for  the 
best  cuts.  Another  has  a  few  tiny  kegs  of  butter  covered 
with  a  layer  of  grass  to  keep  it  cool.  There  will  be  the 
wagons  of  the  butchers  and  farmers  ranged  in  rows. 
Under  old  cotton  umbrellas  sit  the  market  women,  with 
bright-coloured  waists  and  black  or  white  handkerchiefs 
tied  over  their  heads.  They  are  not  pigmies,  either,  at 
least  in  circumference.  The  bakers’  stalls  are  heaped 
high  with  ring-shaped  loaves  and  queer  twisted  rolls. 
The  vegetable  and  fruit  stalls  speak  well  for  the  market 
gardener.  In  a  small  basin  are  the  boats  of  the  fishermen 
just  in  from  their  catch.  These  waters  teem  with  fish, 
so  that  there  is  always  an  abundant  supply  of  this  food, 
and  the  prices  are  remarkably  cheap.  The  housewives 
or  maids  pass  from  one  stall  or  boat  to  another,  inspect¬ 
ing  their  wares.  A  little  after  noon  the  fishermen  and 
market  merchants  who  have  come  by  sea  set  sail,  the 
cotton  umbrellas  come  down,  the  wagons  roll  away,  and 
the  entire  market  disappears  as  by  magic.  You  would 
hardly  believe  that  such  a  transformation  could  take 
place  if  you  did  not  see  it  with  your  own  eyes. 

Women  in  Finland  do  more  than  attend  the  stalls  in 
the  market  or  the  washing  along  the  streams.  I  have 
seen  them  spading  flower-beds  in  the  public  parks,  and 
cleaning  the  streets  the  same  as  they  do  in  Munich.  With 
huge  broom  in  hand  they  march  along  and  sweep  the 
streets  as  thoroughly  as  the  men  might  do.  It  is  nothing 
unusual  to  see  women  carpenters  or  plasterers  at  work 
on  new  buildings.  Even  bricklaying  and  paper  hanging 
has  its  female  professionals.  The  fact  that  there  are 


194  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


about  forty  thousand  more  women  than  men  in  the  coun¬ 
try  may  have  something  to  do  with  this  condition  of 
affairs.  In  fact,  it  is  a  country  where  women’s  rights 
are  fully  respected. 

The  position  of  women  in  Finland,  so  near  to  Russia 
with  its  tinge  of  the  Orient,  and  the  Mongolian  origin 
of  the  Finns  themselves,  is  truly  remarkable.  It  savours 
of  America.  The  property  rights  of  the  two  sexes  are 
the  same.  Women  are  employed  in  stores  and  public 
offices  in  the  same  way.  They  are  always  the  bath  at¬ 
tendants,  and  the  Finnish  bath  is  a  serious  affair.  It 
consists  in  going  into  a  superheated  room,  being  soaped 
all  over,  and  then  beaten  with  little  whips  to  help  on  the 
perspiration.  For  a  long  time  they  have  had  equal  mu¬ 
nicipal  rights,  and  could  serve  on  school  boards.  Now 
they  have  been  given  equal  suffrage,  and  as  many  as 
seventeen  women  have  been  members  of  the  Diet,  which 
corresponds  to  our  state  legislature. 

The  Finnish  Diet  is  one  of  the  most  democratic  and 
representative  chambers  in  the  world.  This  is  undoubt¬ 
edly  due  to  the  enlightened  policy  of  education  that  has 
long  characterized  Finland.  It  consists  of  four  Estates 
or  Orders.  These  are  the  Nobility,  Clergy,  Burghers 
and  the  Peasantry.  In  the  House  of  Nobles,  only  a  few 
members  now  bear  titles,  but  the  most  of  them  are  un¬ 
titled  members  of  this  aristocratic  Estate.  The  Burghers 
include  the  representatives  of  the  towns,  although  for¬ 
merly  it  was  confined  to  members  of  the  trade  guilds. 
From  1809  to  1863  the  Diet  was  not  once  convoked,  but 
more  recently  it  has  been  called  together  about  once  every 
three  years.  A  majority  vote  in  three  out  of  the  four 
Estates  is  sufficient  to  pass  any  legislation,  except  a 
change  in  the  fundamental  law.  It  acts  practically  as 
one  body,  except  that  the  voting  is  done  separately.  Suf- 


FINNISH  CHILDREN 


Finland  and  the  Finns 


195 


frage  is  now  almost  universal  for  every  Finnish  citizen 
twenty-four  years  of  age. 

Education  is  free  but  not  compulsory.  The  absence 
of  it  is  such  a  discredit,  however,  and  emulation  is  so 
keen,  that  it  is  practically  universal.  The  clergy  used  to 
make  illiteracy  a  bar  to  confirmation.  At  the  present 
time  it  is  difficult  to  find  an  inhabitant  in  the  towns,  or 
well  settled  portions  of  the  rural  districts,  who  cannot 
both  read  and  write.  Every  one  of  the  thirty-six  towns 
has  a  good  system  of  common  schools,  and  most  of  the 
country  districts  as  well.  Where  the  population  is  scat¬ 
tered,  the  severe  winters  make  the  sending  of  children 
to  school  a  difficult  problem.  This  is  a  problem  which 
any  government  would  find  it  hard  to  meet,  as  the  poorer 
people  who  inhabit  these  outlying  districts  cannot  afford 
to  maintain  their  children  in  the  towns,  for,  although 
bread  is  cheap,  their  own  earnings  are  also  small.  The 
higher  education  is  encouraged  by  making  the  tuition 
very  low.  The  profession  of  school  teaching  is  looked 
up  to,  and  gives  the  teacher  a  high  standing  in  the  com¬ 
munity.  The  universality  of  education  has  made  news¬ 
papers  common,  and  there  is  hardly  a  town  of  any  im¬ 
portance  without  its  own  newspaper.  The  leading  news¬ 
paper  in  Helsingfors  is  called  the  Hudvudstadbladet. 
Monthly  reviews  on  many  subjects  are  also  published. 

Finland  has  produced  a  number  of  artists  who  have 
acquired  more  than  a  local  fame.  The  Finns  are  essen¬ 
tially  an  artistic  and  emotional  race.  The  art  is  national, 
and  the  subjects  are  generally  drawn  from  national  leg¬ 
end  and  history,  from  the  life  of  the  people,  or  nature 
in  its  1  innish  moods.  Finnish  music  is  not  unlike  the 
Hungarian,  and  is  generally  of  a  sad  description  and  in 
a  minor  key.  The  language  is  well  adapted  for  music 
or  poetr) ,  as  it  is  highly  inflected  and  has  a  very  large 


196  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


vocabulary.  Many  examples  of  the  work  of  Ekman,  Ho- 
lenberg,  Edelfelt,  Vesterholm  and  others  may  be  seen  in 
Helsingfors. 

Without  a  written  literature  there  was  handed  down 
from  father  to  son  for  many  generations  a  great  national 
epic.  In  spite  of  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  it 
contains  much  of  their  old  pagan  theology.  In  the  long 
winter  evenings  the  runo  singers  sat  beside  the  flaming 
pine  logs,  and  there  sang  snatches  from  this  epic.  Fi¬ 
nally  there  appeared  one  Elias  Lonnrot,  a  simple  country 
physician,  who  travelled  over  the  country  and  collected 
up  this  unwritten  epic  from  the  memories  of  hundreds  of 
these  runo  singers.  He  collated  them,  and  called  it  the 
Kalevala,  which  was  first  published  in  1835.  The  final 
edition  contains  twenty-two  thousand  eight  hundred 
lines,  about  seven  thousand  lines  more  than  the  Iliad, 
with  which  it  is  many  times  compared.  For  every  epi¬ 
sode  in  the  day’s  work  the  runo  singers  had  an  appro¬ 
priate  precedent.  The  whole  scheme  of  life  was  coloured 
by  their  pictures  and  wise  sayings.  They  were  filled 
with  shrewd  proverbs  and  vivid  similes.  Lonnrot  was 
but  an  instrument  to  put  these  into  written  form,  but  he 
did  it  with  a  devotion  born  of  love  and  infinite  patience, 
as  well  as  industry.  Longfellow  copied  the  style  in  his 
Hiawatha,  and  attempted  to  do  the  same  thing  with  the 
legends  of  the  American  Indian. 

As  an  instance  of  style,  let  me  give  you  a  few  lines  of 
the  Kalevala,  as  it  describes  itself :  — 

“  Filled  with  old-time  incantations, 

Filled  with  songs  of  times  primeval, 

Filled  with  ancient  wit  and  wisdom; 

Sings  the  very  oldest  folk-songs, 

Sings  the  origin  of  witchcraft, 


Finland  and  the  Finns  197 


Sings  of  Earth  and  its  beginning, 

Sings  the  first  of  all  creations, 

Sings  the  source  of  good  and  evil, 

Sung,  alas!  by  youth  no  longer.” 

One  of  the  songs,  still  repeated  at  the  weddings  of  the 
country  folk,  describes  the  duty  of  the  husband :  — 

“  Teach  one  year  in  words  of  kindness, 

Teach  with  eyes  of  love  a  second. 

In  the  third  year  teach  with  firmness. 

If  she  should  not  heed  thy  teaching, 

Then  instruct  her  with  the  willow. 

Use  the  birch-rod  from  the  mountain, 

In  the  closet  of  thy  dwelling, 

In  the  attic  of  thy  mansion; 

Strike  her  not  upon  the  common, 

Do  not  conquer  her  in  public, 

Lest  the  villagers  should  see  thee, 

Lest  the  neighbours  hear  her  weeping.” 

From  Helsingfors  to  Abo  —  pronounced  O-bo  —  is  a 
journey  of  about  five  hours,  and  many  take  this  route 
to  or  from  Stockholm.  It  used  to  be  the  largest  and  most 
important  town  in  Finland,  and  was  ranked  along  with 
the  Swedish  capital  in  importance.  The  country  inter¬ 
vening  is  the  best  cultivated  in  Finland.  Abo  stretches 
for  a  couple  of  miles  along  the  banks  of  the  river  Aura. 
The  streets  and  squares  are  unusually  wide,  and  most 
of  the  houses  are  but  a  single  story  high  and  built  of 
wood.  Abo  is  mentioned  in  history  as  far  back  as  the 
twelfth  century,  when  the  Swedes  invaded  pagan  Finland 
under  a  dispensation  from  the  Pope.  It  has  suffered 
from  fire,  pestilence  and  the  sword,  as,  in  fact,  has  all 


198  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  Finland.  The  Cathedral  has  been  the  burial-place 
of  some  of  the  noblest  families  of  both  Finland  and 
Sweden. 

A  railroad  leads  from  Abo  to  Tammerfors,  the  lead¬ 
ing  manufacturing  town  of  Finland.  It  is  the  third  city 
in  size,  with  almost  a  half-hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  atmosphere  is  not  blackened  with  smoke,  for  water 
furnishes  the  power  used.  This  seems  to  be  unlimited. 
It  stretches  along  both  banks  of  a  river,  which  connects 
the  lakes  known  as  Nasijarvi  and  Pyhajarvi.  Manu¬ 
facturers  here  never  need  fear  a  coal  strike  or  railroad 
strike  to  interfere  with  their  fuel.  It  is  not  a  town  of 
any  particular  historical  interest,  but  is  purely  an  indus¬ 
trial  place.  The  manufacture  of  paper  is  now  becoming 
quite  an  industry  in  this  region. 

Finland  of  to-day  is  a  prosperous  and  rapidly  devel¬ 
oping  country,  inhabited  by  an  enterprising,  progressive 
and  hospitable  people.  Railways  have  made  most  parts 
of  the  country  accessible  to  both  the  traveller  and  busi¬ 
ness  man.  It  is  an  almost  undiscovered  country  for  the 
tourist,  but  well  worth  the  discovering.  The  population 
is,  roughly  speaking,  three  millions,  of  whom  about  one- 
eighth  are  Swedes.  For  administrative  purposes  it  is 
divided  into  seven  provinces.  About  the  same  propor¬ 
tion  are  agricultural  as  in  Russia.  Dairy  farming  has 
become  one  of  the  most  important  industries.  It  is  more 
profitable  than  the  raising  of  grains,  because  of  the  un¬ 
certainty  of  the  seasons.  Model  dairies  with  the  very 
latest  methods  and  appliances  will  be  found  in  a  number 
of  places. 


CHAPTER  XI 


POLAND  AND  THE  BALTIC  PROVINCES 


German  Characteristics  —  Hanseatic  League  —  Teutonic  Knights  —  Letts 
and  Esthonians  —  Livonians  —  Reval  —  Riga  —  Lithuania  —  Vilna 
—  “  Grand  Army  ”  —  Poland  —  Suppression  of  Polish  Nationality 
—  Polish  Retaliation  —  Warsaw  —  Lodz. 

Nearly  every  visitor  to  Russia,  either  in  his  journey 
to  or  from  St.  Petersburg,  travels  over  the  railroad  be¬ 
tween  that  city  and  Alexandrovo,  on  the  German  border. 
In  this  way  he  passes  through  the  historic  capitals  of 
Lithuania  and  Poland.  Comparatively  few  take  into  con¬ 
sideration  that  section  of  Russia  which  borders  on  the 
Baltic  Sea  and  its  tributaries,  which  are  grouped  under 
the  name  of  the  Baltic  Provinces. 

The  government  of  St.  Petersburg  itself  is  included  in 
this  grouping  of  the  Baltic  Provinces.  Throughout  all 
these  provinces  one  will  find  very  many  more  of  German 
characteristics  than  of  Russian.  In  fact,  in  the  naming 
of  places  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Petersburg,  such  as  Kron¬ 
stadt,  Peterhof,  Schlusselburg,  and  many  other  familiar 
names  around  the  capital  of  Russia,  the  German  influence 
will  be  seen.  In  travelling  through  the  Baltic  provinces, 
one  will  hear  very  much  more  of  the  guttural  German 
tongue  than  of  the  high-keyed  Russian  inflection.  In 
the  counting-houses,  in  the  exchanges,  on  the  quays,  and 
in  all  places  of  business  the  German  language  will  be 
the  one  most  likely  to  be  heard.  The  names  inscribed  on 
the  sign-boards  of  the  business  places,  and  the  names  on 

199 


200  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


the  streets,  all  show  their  Teutonic  origin.  In  the  cities 
one  will  find  the  rathhaus,  the  domkirche,  and  the  brick 
gables  and  high-pitched  roofs  which  are  so  characteristic 
of  many  German  towns. 

If  one  should  be  transported  to  Reval,  a  city  directly 
east  of  St.  Petersburg,  without  knowing  where  he  had 
gone,  it  would  be  difficult  for  him  to  believe  that  he  was 
not  in  one  of  the  mediaeval  towns  of  Germany.  The  only 
thing  to  remind  one  of  Russia  would  be  an  occasional 
church  in  the  familiar  Byzantine  style,  with  its  gilded 
domes  or  minarets.  The  official  class  will  surely  be  found 
to  be  Russians,  and  some  of  the  tradesmen  may  be  of 
that  nationality,  but  in  general  the  Slav  does  not  seem 
to  thrive  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic. 

The  history  of  these  provinces  runs  back  a  good  many 
centuries.  It  will  all  be  found  to  be  centred  around  the 
towns  of  Reval,  Riga,  Narva,  Mittau,  and  Dorpat.  Its 
early  conquest,  and  the  beginning  of  the  Germanic  in¬ 
fluence,  was  due  to  religious  zeal.  About  the  close  of 
the  twelfth  century  a  religious  crusade  was  made  into 
these  provinces,  under  the  spiritual  guidance  of  one 
Bishop  Albert.  This  man  could  not  bear  to  see  all  of 
these  heathen,  who  dwelt  upon  the  coast  of  the  Baltic, 
go  down  to  perdition,  as  he  believed  they  would.  Al¬ 
ready  there  were  some  German  adventurers  in  these  prov¬ 
inces  —  merchants,  who  were  members  of  that  strong 
combination  known  as  the  Hanseatic  League,  which  had 
stations  at  Novgorod  and  other  places. 

The  preponderating  influence  of  this  league  of  mer¬ 
chants  is  scarcely  appreciable  to-day.  They  were  the 
original  gigantic  trust ;  they  treated  those  who  opposed 
them  with  as  high  hand  as  any  modern  commercial  octo¬ 
pus.  Originally  organized  for  protection  against  pirates 
of  the  high  seas,  it  became  not  only  a  commercial  monop- 


Poland  and  the  Baltic  Provinces  201 


oly,  but  exercised  sovereign  power,  negotiating  treaties 
and  declaring  war  or  peace.  This  league  practically 
ruled  these  Baltic  Provinces  during  the  height  of  their 
power  in  the  fourteenth  and  first  half  of  the  fifteenth 
centuries.  Riga  and  Reval  were  among  the  eighty-five 
cities  at  that  time  members  of  the  confederation.  Thou¬ 
sands  of  their  retainers  dwelt  in  the  cities,  and  were 
engaged  in  the  transportation  of  goods  over  the  rough 
roads.  Novgorod  was  one  of  their  principal  depots,  and 
Smolensk  was  also  an  important  trading-place.  Bremen, 
Hamburg,  and  Liibeck  still  retain  their  ancient  rights, 
and  are  independent  members  of  the  German  Em¬ 
pire. 

About  the  year  1200,  the  city  of  Riga  was  founded. 
A  short  time  afterwards  a  religious  order,  known  as  the 
Order  of  the  Sword  Bearers,  was  formed,  and  began  the 
process  of  converting  the  inhabitants  of  these  provinces 
by  force.  They  wore  white  mantles  with  a  red  cross 
on  the  shoulder.  Most  of  them  were  from  Westphalia 
and  Saxony.  It  was  not  a  difficult  process,  this  crusade 
of  Christianization,  for  the  superior  arms  of  the  in¬ 
vaders  made  the  natives  practically  helpless  against  their 
attacks.  The  conversion  in  most  instances  meant  the 
reduction  of  the  people  to  practical  slavery,  for  they  were 
made  serfs  of  the  German  landlords,  who  appropriated 
the  soil.  Cities,  fortified  posts,  and  the  baronial  homes 
of  the  wealthy  nobles  began  to  arise  on  every  hand  in 
order  to  keep  the  people  in  subjection.  From  this  fatal 
day  these  brave  tribes  lost  both  their  lands  and  their 
liberties. 

The  Livonians  rose  against  the  missionaries.  Some 
of  the  natives  again  plunged  into  the  Dwina  to  wash  off 
the  baptism  they  had  received  and  send  it  back  to  Ger¬ 
many,  and  returned  to  the  worship  of  their  gods.  A 


202  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


short  time  later  the  Order  of  the  Sword  Bearers  was 
amalgamated  with  another  order  called  the  Teutonic 
Knights,  who  were  organized  in  a  similar  manner  to  the 
Order  of  the  Crusaders  of  an  earlier  period.  From  the 
time  of  the  invasion  of  the  Germans,  until  they  were 
finally  consolidated  with  the  Russian  Empire,  these  prov¬ 
inces  had  a  very  checkered  history.  There  were  fierce 
struggles  among  Poles,  Danes,  Swedes,  Lithuanians,  and 
the  Russians  for  their  possession.  At  one  time  Sweden 
gained  the  ascendency,  and  the  Reformed  faith  was  in¬ 
troduced,  which,  even  to  the  present  time,  is  professed  by 
a  majority  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  reality  there  were  two  numerous  aboriginal  peoples 
who  dwelt  in  these  provinces.  They  were  the  Letts  or 
Tchouds,  who  were  a  branch  of  the  Lithuanians,  and  the 
Esthonians.  The  former  occupied  the  province  now 
known  as  Courland,  and  a  part  of  Livonia,  while  the 
Esthonians  inhabited  the  northern  part  of  this  section. 
Although  these  people  have  always  dwelt  so  close  to¬ 
gether,  and  possibly  were  originally  of  the  same  stock, 
there  are  now  marked  differences  both  in  language  and 
in  appearance.  Misfortune  has  probably  made  the  Letts 
and  Esthonians  brethren  in  a  sense,  so  that  they  have 
been  on  kindly  terms  of  intercourse,  but  they  are  still 
quite  different  in  many  characteristics.  Both  have  been 
trampled  on  by  hard  taskmasters,  and  have  bent  their 
shoulders,  patiently  and  uncomplainingly,  to  the  yoke 
of  German,  Swede,  Pole  and  Russian. 

The  Letts  are  an  imaginative  people,  and  many  of  the 
leading  writers  and  artists  of  Russia  have  come  of  this 
race.  They  possess  an  immense  collection  of  primitive 
folk-songs  and  legends.  Most  of  them  are  short,  and 
are  single  outbursts  of  joy  or  sorrow  over  the  great 
events  of  human  life,  birth,  love,  death,  spring,  winter 


Poland  and  the  Baltic  Provinces  203 


and  harvests.  Unlike  the  communistic  Russians,  the 
Letts  live  in  isolation,  and  the  cottages  may  be  half  a 
mile  or  a  mile  apart.  Scattered  throughout  the  provinces 
there  are  probably  a  million  and  a  half  of  Letts,  and,  in 
general,  they  are  more  prosperous  than  either  the  Great 
or  Little  Russians. 

The  northern  part  of  these  Baltic  Provinces  is  more 
fertile  than  the  southern,  and  one  will  find  the  people 
there  considerably  more  prosperous.  Reval  lies  almost 
opposite  the  city  of  Helsingfors  in  Finland.  It  is  pro¬ 
tected  by  an  outlying  line  of  reefs  and  islands,  and  is 
strongly  fortified.  Approaching  this  city  from  the  sea 
one  is  led  to  expect  great  things.  It  is  a  place  that  is  full 
of  historic  memories,  leading  back  many  centuries,  but 
it  is  also  quite  a  prosperous  town  to-day,  because  of  its 
commerce.  The  Dom  quarter,  the  aristocratic  section,  is 
perched  along  a  rocky  ridge,  with  steep  slopes  descending 
to  the  lower  sections  where  the  docks  are  located  and 
the  labourers  make  their  homes.  The  great  landmark 
of  Reval  is  the  tower  of  St.  Olaf,  which  is  one  of  the 
highest  towers  in  Russia.  In  the  Domkirche,  or  Cathe¬ 
dral,  rest  the  bones  of  Admiral  Grieg,  one  of  Russia’s 
naval  heroes.  The  House  of  the  Black-heads,  an  ancient 
military  association  of  young  citizens  formed  for  the 
defence  of  the  town,  is  an  interesting  curiosity.  The 
city  contains  the  ruins  of  many  convents  and  monasteries, 
and  also  remains  of  walls  and  towers  of  diverse  forms, 
which  have  been  built  in  various  ages. 

At  Riga,  which  is  the  older  town  of  the  two,  fewer 
reminders  of  the  past  will  be  found,  as  they  have  been 
obliterated  by  the  more  recent  developments.  Its  posi¬ 
tion  at  the  mouth  of  the  deep  and  navigable  Dwina  has 
been  its  good  fortune,  and  has  been  responsible  for  its 
developments.  The  entrance  to  the  river  is  defended  by 


204  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


the  fortress  of  Dunamundes,  and  the  wharves  are  some 
distance  up  the  river.  Riga  rises  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  river  in  amphitheatre  style.  It  also  has  the  air  of  a 
German  town,  especially  the  older  quarters,  and  retains  a 
number  of  its  ancient  privileges.  The  remains  of  Bishop 
Albert,  who  Christianized  these  provinces,  rest  in  the 
Domkirche.  The  walls  have  now  been  razed,  and  the 
sites  converted  into  boulevards.  The  newer  town  lies 
outside  these  boulevards.  To-day  it  is  one  of  the  great¬ 
est  ports  of  Russia,  and  has  a  population  approaching 
three  hundred  thousand,  at  least  half  of  whom  are  Ger¬ 
mans  or  Jews.  Thousands  of  vessels  enter  the  harbour 
each  year,  and  the  annual  tonnage  of  its  commerce  ex¬ 
ceeds  a  million. 

Lithuania  was  at  one  time  a  great  power.  It  exer¬ 
cised  sovereignty  over  much  of  what  was  later  included 
in  Poland,  and  was  then  the  leading  power  in  Eastern 
Europe.  Little  is  known  of  the  Lithuanians  until  the 
eleventh  century.  Some  think  they  are  descendants  of 
the  original  Ostrogoths,  but  they  are  undoubtedly  Sla¬ 
vonic.  Lithuania  ended  in  being  crushed  between  Poland 
and  Russia,  and  finally  was  absorbed  by  the  latter.  It 
was  the  last  great  stronghold  of  pagan  worship  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  as  it  was  converted  to  Christianity  later  than  its 
neighbours.  At  the  present  time  its  population  is  divided 
between  the  Lutheran  and  Orthodox  faiths.  The  chances 
are,  however,  that  a  close  examination  would  reveal  a 
lot  of  original  heathenism  mixed  up  with  the  Lithu¬ 
anian’s  religious  ideas.  He  has  a  great  belief  in  signs 
and  marvels,  dreams  and  omens,  magic  and  witch¬ 
craft. 

Present  Lithuania,  which  includes  the  governments  of 
Vilna,  Grodno,  Vitebsk,  Mohilev,  and  Minsk,  is  not  a  very 
prosperous  looking  country.  It  is  a  land  where  man  has 


Poland  and  the  Baltic  Provinces  205 


not  yet  subdued  nature  entirely.  There  is  much  marshy 
and  forest  land.  Although  conditions  have  improved 
considerably  since  the  abolishment  of  serfage,  it  is  not 
yet  as  prosperous  as  some  of  those  provinces  farther 
south.  The  groups  in  the  villages  are  rather  squalid  and 
dirty,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  the  appearance  of 
blight  and  impoverishment.  It  is  especially  noticeable  to 
one  just  arriving  from  Germany  or  Austria,  because  of 
the  contrast  in  landscape  and  appearance  of  the  people. 
Serfage  here  was  harder  than  in  either  Great  or  Little 
Russia.  Elsewhere  there  was  at  least  a  common  relig¬ 
ious  and  ethnological  bond.  Here  the  landlords  were 
mostly  Polish  Catholics,  alien  in  both  race  and  religion. 
The  nobles  spent  their  time  in  Warsaw  or  Cracow  in 
luxury,  while  most  likely  a  severe  German  taskmaster 
was  left  in  charge  of  the  estate.  Sometimes  the  steward 
was  a  Jew,  but  that  meant  no  improvement.  The  Polish 
nobles  held  themselves  superior  not  only  in  social  stand¬ 
ing  but  also  of  a  different  flesh  and  blood.  It  is  little 
wonder  that  the  peasantry  did  not  develop  a  high  stand¬ 
ard  of  either  honesty,  cleanliness,  or  temperance.  They 
are  usually  fairly  tall  men,  blue-eyed  and  fair  of  feature. 
In  their  capacity  for  drink  they  will  not  yield  to  any 
other  people  of  modern  Russia.  In  the  towns  Jews  con¬ 
gregated  in  large  numbers  the  same  as  they  did  in  Poland, 
for  they  enjoyed  not  only  comparative  favour  but  im¬ 
munity  from  the  oppression  cast  upon  them  by  other 
nations. 

Vilna,  which  was  the  centre  of  most  of  the  great  events 
in  Lithuanian  history,  is  on  the  main  line  of  railway 
between  the  capital  and  border.  It  is  still  a  place  of  con¬ 
siderable  importance,  though  visited  by  few  travellers. 
The  city  is  built  at  the  junction  of  the  Vilna  and  Vilayka 
Rivers.  It  is  likewise  the  point  of  divergence  for  the 


206  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


two  railway  routes  to  Berlin,  one  via  Warsaw,  and  the 
other  via  Konigsburg.  It  is  now  a  city  approaching  two 
hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  of  whom  probably  one- 
third  are  Jews.  This  race  has  most  of  the  trade  in  their 
hands.  The  city  is  located  in  a  pretty  valley  with  gentle 
hills  rising  in  every  direction.  A  hne  view  of  the  coun¬ 
try  is  afforded  by  a  ruined  tower  of  the  former  palace 
of  the  Grand  Dukes.  Here  it  was  that  the  old  Lithuanian 
heroes  worshipped.  On  this  hill  the  sacred  fire  was  ever 
kept  burning,  as  long  as  the  heathen  worship  was  fol¬ 
lowed. 

The  “  Grand  Army  ”  of  Napoleon  passed  through 
Vilna  in  1812.  For  a  moment  it  was  thought  that  the 
ancient  grandeur  of  the  kingdom  would  return.  Napo¬ 
leon  entered  the  city  in  triumph.  The  nobility  crowded 
around  him  with  enthusiasm,  and  the  restoration  of  the 
old  Lithuanian  state  was  proclaimed.  But  this  was  be¬ 
fore  Moscow  and  the  events  succeeding.  A  few  months 
later  the  remnants  of  this  “  Grand  Army  ”  again  passed 
through  the  gates  of  the  city. 

Near  this  city  there  is  a  stone,  on  one  side  of  which 
is  this  inscription:  “Napoleon  Bonaparte  passed  this 
way  in  1812  with  400,000  men.”  On  the  other  side  is 
this  inscription :  “  Napoleon  Bonaparte  passed  this  way 
in  1812  with  9,000  men.”  A  terrible  tragedy  is  contained 
in  those  two  inscriptions. 

As  my  droshki  was  driven  toward  the  hotel,  we  passed 
under  a  very  holy  gateway,  before  which  scores  of  peas¬ 
ants  were  kneeling.  Not  knowing  the  sacredness  of  the 
place,  I  did  not  remove  my  hat  until  the  carriage  was 
almost  stopped  by  the  outraged  worshippers.  This  lack 
of  courtesy  was  not  intentional  on  my  part,  but  the 
ignorant  people  did  not  understand  this.  It  is  an  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  fact  that  the  Lithuanians  of  to-day  are  as 


JEWISH  QUARTER,  VILNA 


Poland  and  the  Baltic  Provinces  207 


much  devoted  to  their  new  faith  as  they  were  loth  to 
give  up  the  old. 

Vilna  to-day  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  cities  in 
Russia,  for  one  who  wants  to  study  the  old.  The  archi¬ 
tecture  of  a  previous  age,  and  the  antiquated  character¬ 
istics  still  prevail.  Most  of  the  town  has  not  been 
changed.  The  architecture  is  quaint  and  almost  medi¬ 
aeval.  The  streets  are  narrow  and  winding,  and  the 
stores  very  much  behind  the  times.  Street  cars  drawn 
by  horses  still  rattle  over  the  stony  streets.  For  that  rea¬ 
son  it  is  not  very  cleanly.  But  one  day  during  my  visit 
the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  until  the  narrow  streets,  being 
unaided  by  sewers,  were  three  or  four  inches  deep  with 
running  water.  It  was  harder  than  any  tropical  rain  that 
I  have  ever  seen,  and  seemed  almost  like  the  cloudburst 
that  one  sometimes  reads  about.  The  air  was  noticeably 
better  after  this  thorough  flushing. 

The  Jewish  quarter  is  as  dirty  and  bad  as  in  any  city 
within  the  Jewish  Pale.  The  inhabitants  have  the  same 
slouching  gait,  wear  the  same  long  coat,  and  live  by  the 
same  sharp  dealing  as  they  do  in  Warsaw.  The  Lithu¬ 
anian  population  are  very  unprogressive,  and  not  very 
attractive.  On  a  holiday  that  I  passed  in  Vilna,  all  the 
population  seemed  to  turn  out  in  the  little  park.  Among 
the  peasants  was  one  girl  of  Little  Russia  in  her  bright 
costume.  I  could  not  help  noticing  how  much  brighter 
and  comelier  she  looked  than  the  companions  with 
her. 

Vilna  had  at  one  time  quite  a  celebrated  university, 
which  was  founded  as  a  Jesuit  college,  in  1578.  This 
was  suppressed  about  a  century  ago,  and  the  great  library 
removed  to  St.  Petersburg.  With  the  university  seemed 
to  go  the  learning  and  literature  for  which  the  city  was 
at  one  time  noted. 


208  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Poor  Poland ! 

How  many  have  uttered  this  exclamation  as  they  have 
read  the  history  of  this  unfortunate  nation.  This  feeling 
will  occur  to  many  as  they  travel  over  that  part  of  Russia 
which  was  formerly  a  part  of  Poland.  One  writer  has 
characterized  Poland  as  the  Knight  among  Nations,  and 
the  term  is  not  illy  applied. 

Of  the  three  countries  that  participated  in  the  disin¬ 
tegration  of  Poland,  Austria  treats  her  Polish  subjects 
the  best.  They  are  allowed  practical  autonomy  in  their 
government,  and  are  subjected  to  no  persecution  what¬ 
soever.  Russia  might  have  stood  best  with  the  Poles  at 
large,  had  she  been  wise,  because  both  races  are  Slavs. 
Another  reason  for  this  statement  is  the  fact  that  the 
peasants  and  middle  classes  of  Poland,  who  constituted 
the  vast  majority  of  the  population,  hated  the  nobles  as 
much  as  they  now  hate  the  Russians.  Old  Poland,  before 
the  partition,  was  essentially  a  land  of  a  wealthy,  turbu¬ 
lent  and  oppressive  oligarchy,  which  oppressed,  enslaved 
and  degraded  the  peasantry.  The  nobles,  although  men 
of  culture  and  refinement,  were  most  oppressive  task¬ 
masters,  and  treated  their  serfs,  in  many  instances,  almost 
like  beasts  of  the  fields. 

The  last  Polish  revolution,  that  of  1863,  was  purely 
an  aristocratic  movement  in  which  the  peasants  took  lit¬ 
tle  part.  As  a  favour  the  Russian  government  rewarded 
the  peasants  by  granting  them  some  special  privileges, 
and  a  share  of  the  estates  of  the  nobles,  in  order  to  bribe 
their  loyalty  and  widen  the  gap  between  landlord  and 
peasant.  They  were  made  freehold  proprietors  of  the 
lands  occupied  by  them ;  they  were  given  the  privilege 
of  collecting  wood  from  the  landlord’s  forest,  and  pas¬ 
turing  their  cattle  on  his  meadows.  Thus  far  the  Rus¬ 
sian  policy  was  good.  But  Russia  forgot  that  the  Poles 


Poland  and  the  Baltic  Provinces  209 


were  very  much  attached  to  two  things  —  their  language 
and  their  religion.1 

Russia  forbade  the  teaching  of  Polish  in  the  schools, 
and  converted  the  university  at  Warsaw  into  a  Russian 
university.  A  severe  censorship  was  inflicted  upon  the 
Polish  press,  and  all  the  signs  of  merchants  were  ordered 
to  be  printed  in  Russian,  as  well  as  Polish,  even  though 
there  was  not  a  soul  in  the  neighbourhood  who  spoke 
Russian.  The  Russians  likewise  began  a  campaign  to 
convert  the  Poles  to  Orthodoxy,  on  the  theory  that  the 
only  good  Russian  is  an  Orthodox  Christian.  This 
aroused  great  opposition  among  the  Poles,  both  nobles 
and  peasants.  There  are  few  people  in  Europe  who  are 
so  devoted  to  their  religion  as  the  Poles  are  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  One  will  find,  in  travelling  over  Po¬ 
land,  great  Russian  churches  where  perhaps  the  only 
adherents  to  that  denomination  are  the  soldiers  stationed 
in  the  neighbourhood. 

With  these  facts  in  mind  it  is  easy  to  see  why  the  Poles 
are  still  unreconciled  to  Russian  rule.  They  have  never 
ceased  to  harbour  the  idea  of  absolute  independence. 
The  nobles  hope  for  a  separate  government  along  the 
old  lines,  where  they  will  be  in  control  of  affairs.  The 
other  classes  aspire  to  autonomy  under  a  different  form 
of  government.  They  would  really  prefer  Russian  rule 
to  the  oligarchy  of  the  nobles,  such  as  formerly  existed. 

The  Russian  autocracy  subjects  the  Polish  people  to 
many  petty  annoyances.  It  will  not,  for  instance,  permit 
the  erection  of  a  memorial  to  Kosciuszko,  the  Polish  pa- 

1  The  story  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  Kingdom  of  Poland  is  a  fascina¬ 
ting  one,  but  it  is  too  long  to  include  at  length  in  this  volume.  Those 
interested  in  the  subject  are  referred  to  the  author’s  companion  volume, 
now  in  press,  entitled  “  Poland  of  To-Day  and  Yesterday,”  giving  this 
story  and  the  present  condition  of  the  Poles  and  their  ancient  kingdom  in 
Germany,  Austria  and  Russia. 


210  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


triot,  honoured  in  both  Poland  and  the  United  States. 
It  is  not  always  so  savagely  severe,  as  many  suppose, 
but  is  constantly  interfering  in  the  private  concerns  of 
the  people,  worrying  them  with  minute  regulations,  and 
subjecting  them  to  many  trifling  formalities,  which  of¬ 
fend  Polish  susceptibilities.  The  country  is  under  a 
governor-general,  who  has  absolute  power  of  life  and 
death  over  the  people,  with  far  more  power  than  similar 
officials  in  other  parts  of  Russia.  The  citadel  of  Warsaw, 
with  its  garrison  of  one  hundred  thousand  or  more,  is 
designed  rather  to  overawe  the  Poles  than  to  defend  the 
town  from  any  foreign  foe. 

During  the  Russo-Japanese  war  the  number  of  Poles 
sent  to  the  front  was  altogether  out  of  proportion  to  their 
number.  The  report  was  also  current  that  the  Polish 
regiments  were  placed  in  the  front,  in  order  that  the 
losses  might  fall  upon  them.  Whether  this  is  true  or 
not,  it  has,  no  doubt,  increased  the  bitterness  felt  toward 
Russia. 

In  retaliation  the  Poles  do  some  very  queer  things. 
When  general  mourning  was  ordered  for  Alexander  III, 
the  people  of  Warsaw  tied  bits  of  crepe  to  the  tails  of 
their  dogs.  As  the  Polish  colours  of  red  and  white  are 
forbidden,  they  will  fly  the  Danish  flag,  which  is  a  white 
cross  on  a  red  ground,  and  can  be  folded  so  as  to  rep¬ 
resent  the  Polish  flag.  At  other  times  they  will  buy 
Russian  flags  in  which  the  blue  is  of  a  kind  that  will 
fade  at  once,  thus  leaving  only  red  and  white. 

The  Poles  in  many  respects  stand  out  superior  in  cul¬ 
ture,  energy  and  civilization  to  Russians  proper.  There 
is  an  elegance  about  the  Polish  nobility  that  one  does 
not  find  among  the  Russians.  They  are  tall  and  rather 
over-slender,  with  shapely  features.  The  women  are 
lithesome  and  graceful.  Poland  was  already  a  Euro- 


OF  THE  PARKS  OF  WARSAW 


Poland  and  the  Baltic  Provinces  211 


pean  power,  with  institutions  more  or  less  similar  to  those 
of  Western  Europe,  while  Russia  was  still  largely  Asiatic 
in  character.  And  Russia  possesses  the  real  marrow  of 
old  Poland. 

On  arriving  in  Warsaw,  at  the  present  day,  you  feel 
as  though  you  have  left  Russia  behind,  and  are  again 
in  Western  Europe.  There  is  an  atmosphere  about  the 
city,  such  as  no  other  Russian  city,  even  St.  Petersburg 
or  Odessa,  possesses.  Its  very  situation  is  striking.  Ap¬ 
proaching  it  from  the  Vistula,  one  sees  that  its  defences 
were  built  towards  the  east,  for  from  that  direction  came 
both  Mongol  and  Russian.  Therefore  the  fortifications 
were  built  on  the  river  bank,  and  commanded  the  valley 
of  the  Vistula.  In  fact  the  fort  was  built  first,  and  the 
city  then  grew  up  around  it  for  protection.  The  newer 
Warsaw  is  a  beautiful  city.  Splendid  streets  and  beau¬ 
tiful  parks  abound.  Only  a  block  or  two  from  the  centre 
of  the  city  is  a  fine  park  filled  with  noble  trees  and  beds 
of  flowers.  Near  one  end  of  the  main  street  are  two 
other  parks  that  will  compare  with  almost  any  similar 
pleasure-ground  in  Europe.  Along  the  streets  are  a 
number  of  palaces  of  the  nobility,  which  were  once  cen¬ 
tres  of  the  life  of  these  real  aristocrats.  Although  the 
Russian  is  master  here,  he  is  of  little  consequence.  The 
cafe  life  reminds  one  of  Paris,  with  its  tables  out  on  the 
street  and  music  everywhere. 

The  ancient  town  centres  around  the  old  market  in  the 
Stare  Miastro,  or  old  town.  Here  are  quaint  old  narrow 
and  lofty  houses,  with  curious  carvings  on  the  faqades. 
It  is  still  a  sort  of  market-place,  although  it  has  been 
overshadowed  by  the  new  market.  Narrow  streets  are 
the  order  here.  Here  will  also  be  found  the  ghetto,  which 
is  probably  the  most  miserable  of  all.  It  is  such  a  con¬ 
trast  to  the  bright  and  beautiful  quarters  of  the  newer 


212  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

city,  where  enterprise  and  prosperity  show  up  on  all  sides. 
The  royal  apartments  of  the  Zamek,  the  old  castle,  are 
now  the  living-quarters  of  the  governor-general. 

Poland  has  become  an  industrial  centre  at  the  present 
day.  The  Poles  make  good  workmen,  and  the  peasants 
are  not  hindered  by  the  commune  system  which  prevails 
in  Russia.  They  can  leave  their  villages  whenever  they 
desire.  There  are  in  Poland  three  principal  industrial 
centres  —  Warsaw,  Lodz  and  the  Sosnowice-Chensto- 
chova  districts.  Warsaw  is  already  the  third  city  in 
Russia,  with  a  population  of  nearly  a  million,  and  Lodz 
is  a  city  of  more  than  four  hundred  thousand  inhabitants. 
In  the  latter  city  the  business  is  in  the  hands  of  Germans, 
and  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  signs  over  the  business  places 
will  be  either  German  or  Jewish.  The  principal  news¬ 
papers  are  printed  in  German.  In  Poland  the  Jews  are 
given  more  consideration  than  in  Russia  proper,  and 
anti-Semitic  disturbances  are  comparatively  rare  among 
the  pure  Poles.  The  Jews  have  lived  in  the  country  so 
many  centuries,  and  were  always  so  essential  to  the  busi¬ 
ness,  that,  although  not  loved  by  the  Poles  any  more  than 
the  Russians,  they  are  at  least  tolerated. 


CHAPTER  XII 


NOBLE  AND  TCHINOVNIK 


Many  Classes  —  Regulations  of  Peter  the  Great  —  Merchants  and  Arti¬ 
sans  —  The  Stchety  —  Guilds  —  Army  of  Nobles  —  Their  Poverty  — 
Descendants  of  Rurik  —  Russian  Equality  —  The  Fourteen  Ranks 
of  T chins. 

“  There  are  only  two  classes  of  people  in  Russia,” 
said  more  than  one  Russian  to  me.  In  a  measure  this 
statement  is  true,  but  officially  and  legally  it  is  far  from 
the  truth.  A  whole  volume  of  the  bulky  Russian  Code 
is  devoted  to  the  rights  and  obligations  of  “  classes,  or¬ 
ders  and  distinctions.” 

The  former  classification  into  orders  and  ranks  still 
subsists  before  the  law,  even  if  not  very  noticeable  in 
actual  life.  As  a  matter  of  fact  these  distinctions  are 
very  much  on  the  surface.  These  classes  have  existed 
from  the  very  earliest  beginning  of  Russian  history.  At 
first  there  were  the  princes,  the  boyars,  the  armed  fol¬ 
lowers  of  the  princes,  the  free  peasantry  and  the  serfs. 
These  classes  were  formally  recognized  by  the  legislation 
of  that  period.  The  name  and  character  of  the  classes 
has  changed  more  than  once,  but  they  have  never  ceased 
to  exist.  There  is,  however,  very  little  of  the  caste  spirit 
or  caste  prejudice. 

The  law  recognizes  four  principal  classes  —  the  no¬ 
bility,  the  clergy,  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  and  cities, 
and  the  rural  population,  or  peasants.  Such  an  evolution 
was  the  natural  growth  of  a  highly  centralized  govern- 

213 


214  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ment.  It  was  Peter  the  Great,  with  his  unquenchable 
passion  for  regulation,  who  divided  his  people  into 
classes,  giving  each  one  a  well-defined  sphere  of  action. 
He  showed  an  almost  autocratic  indifference  to  birth  and 
pedigree.  He  simply  wanted  service,  and  his  favours 
were  bestowed  on  those  who  rendered  this  service,  re¬ 
gardless  of  family  or  social  position.  It  was  Catherine 
the  Great,  with  a  desire  to  force  an  aristocracy  on  the 
French  model,  who  bestowed  on  the  nobility  certain  priv¬ 
ileges.  She  took  for  her  model  the  old  French  noblesse, 
who  were  a  free  and  privileged  class,  proud  of  their 
rights  and  privileges,  as  well  as  their  culture.  She  wanted 
a  pomp-loving  and  pleasure-seeking  body  of  men  and 
women  around  her  court.  She  considered  this  to  be  not 
only  a  necessary  adjunct  to  a  monarchy,  but  one  of  its 
best  possible  bulwarks.  During  a  part  of  her  reign,  the 
court  of  St.  Petersburg  almost  rivalled  that  of  Versailles. 

The  duties  and  obligations  of  each  order  were  minutely 
set  forth,  and  formidable  barriers  raised  between  them. 
Catherine  likewise  felt  a  peculiar  need  of  helping  the 
nobility,  for,  not  being  in  the  line  of  succession,  her 
usurpation  depended  on  the  nobles  for  its  support,  as  the 
semi-religious  veneration  attached  to  the  person  of  the 
Czar  was  absent  in  her  case.  Even  the  army  at  that  time 
was  a  caste  almost  as  much  as  the  clergy  are  to  this  day. 
Alexander  II  abolished  this  when  he  ordered  universal 
military  service,  and  the  Cossack  is  the  nearest  to  that 
class  that  still  laps  over  into  the  twentieth  century. 

Peter  the  Great,  with  his  characteristic  vigour,  set  out 
to  create  a  middle  class,  and  he  attributed  the  poverty 
and  troubles  of  his  country  to  the  absence  of  this  class. 
Both  he  and  Catherine  II  did  much  to  improve  the  cities. 
The  towns  as  well  as  people  were  subdivided  into  classes. 
There  were  government,  provincial  and  ordinary  towns ; 


Noble  and  Tchinovnik 


215 


merchants,  burghers  and  artisans  among  the  urban  dwell¬ 
ers.  Merchants,  tradesmen,  small  burghers  and  mechan¬ 
ics  received  from  her  a  corporative  organization.  These 
latter  did  not  form  hereditary  castes,  however,  like  the 
priests  and  nobles.  A  man  may  be  an  artisan  one  year, 
and  a  merchant  next  year,  if  he  changes  his  occupation 
and  pays  the  necessary  dues.  The  artisans  are  really  the 
connecting  link  between  the  agricultural  peasants  and  the 
urban  population.  The  burghers  include  those  who  are 
neither  merchants  nor  artisans  in  the  strict  sense,  and  are 
most  numerous  of  all. 

The  merchants  come  the  nearest  to  a  middle  class  that 
exists  in  Russia  to-day.  Most  of  them  come  from  the 
peasant  class,  but  many  nobles  enter  into  business  and 
become  merchants.  By  paying  the  prescribed  dues  one 
readily  enters  this  class.  Some  have  become  very 
wealthy,  but  their  ignorance  still  prevails,  and  their  peas¬ 
ant  origin  can  readily  be  recognized.  A  calculating  in¬ 
strument  called  the  stchety  is  almost  universally  used  by 
them.  It  is  a  square  wooden  framework  with  rows  of 
brass  wires,  on  which  wooden  discs  are  shoved  back  and 
forth  in  making  their  calculations.  The  merchant  may 
have  a  gorgeously  furnished  home,  most  of  it  being  in¬ 
tended  only  for  state  occasions,  while  he  and  his  family 
live  in  plain  apartments.  He  usually  looks  up  to  the 
official  and  military  class  as  the  only  aristocracy,  and  is 
greatly  pleased  when  these  wearers  of  uniforms  can  be 
induced  to  become  his  guests.  The  dishonesty  of  the 
merchant  has  become  almost  proverbial  in  Russia.  His 
theory  is  that  when  you  deal  with  him  you  must  use 
your  senses,  just  as  you  would  with  a  horse-trader.  If 
you  are  bested,  you  have  only  yourself  to  blame. 

The  merchants  are  divided  into  several  subdivisions, 
known  as  guilds.  This  system  was  an  importation  from 


216  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Western  Europe,  at  a  time  when  the  guilds  were  all- 
powerful  in  that  part  of  the  world.  The  difference  in 
the  ranks  of  guilds  is  based  on  the  amount  of  capital  and 
the  corresponding  dues  they  pay  to  the  state.  The  high¬ 
est  class  of  merchants  pay  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
a  year,  and  have  the  privilege  of  trading  in  any  part  of 
the  Empire  as  well  as  abroad.  Merchants  rise  or  fall 
from  one  class  to  another,  as  their  fortune  grows  or 
decreases.  As  soon  as  a  merchant  ceases  to  pay  these 
dues,  he  is  automatically  dropped  from  it  in  the  legal 
sense  of  the  term.  A  new  class  of  “  honorary  citizens  ” 
was  actually  created  by  the  autocracy  to  satisfy  the  so¬ 
cially  ambitious  merchants,  and  this  title  may  even  be 
made  hereditary. 

The  nobility  of  Russia  —  the  dvorianstvo  —  forms  a 
very  numerous  class.  Titles  were  common  centuries  ago, 
and  each  of  the  children  bears  the  title  of  the  parent, 
even  while  the  parent  is  living.  There  are  some  four 
hundred  men  and  women  of  the  Galitzin  family  who  are 
entitled  to  be  called  prince  or  princess.  From  the  time 
of  Peter  the  Great  to  Alexander  I,  hereditary  nobility 
belonged  by  right  to  every  army  officer  from  the  time 
he  won  his  first  epaulet.  Later  it  was  limited  to  colonels 
and  the  fourth  class  of  the  civil  service,  and  now  enno¬ 
blement  by  grade  and  service  has  been  abolished.  It  is 
easy  to  see  what  a  nobility  could  develop  into  with  the 
door  open  so  wide. 

The  official  register  in  its  statistics  lists  several  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  among  the  class  of  hereditary  nobles. 
They  are  a  vast  army  in  themselves.  Therefore  for  any 
one  to  lay  great  stress  on  the  fact  that  he  or  she  asso¬ 
ciated  with  a  count  or  prince  in  Russia  does  not  neces¬ 
sarily  mean  any  great  distinction.  There  are  hundreds 
of  princes  and  princesses  who  have  not  even  the  right 


Noble  and  Tchinovnik 


217 


to  appear  in  court.  There  is  nothing  to  proclaim  their 
quality,  except  an  inscription  in  the  registers  of  their 
province.  Hence  a  title  in  Russia  does  not  mean  what 
it  does  in  England,  where  the  law  of  primogeniture  pre¬ 
vails.  Furthermore,  contrary  to  the  common  idea,  the 
majority  of  the  nobility  are  really  poor.  Some  of  them 
are  so  poor  that  they  have  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the 
merchant  class,  or  even  take  employment.  Others  of 
the  nobility  are  enormously  rich,  owning  estates  that 
compare  with  principalities,  but  these  are  not  really 
numerous.  At  the  time  of  the  emancipation  one  family 
owned  a  quarter  of  a  million  serfs,  but  thousands  of 
landed  proprietors  did  not  own  more  than  two  acres. 
Those  who  possess  great  wealth  usually  spend  it  freely, 
with  ostentation  and  improvidence.  Hence  it  will  be 
seen  that  social  aristocracy  and  titled  families  are  not 
synonymous.  There  are  thousands  of  titled  ones  who 
do  not  belong  to  the  social  aristocracy,  and  there  are 
thousands  in  that  rank  who  do  not  possess  a  title.  The 
real  aristocracy  is  doubtless  a  group  of  families  which 
cluster  around  the  court,  and  form  the  highest  rank  of 
titled  class.  The  real  basis  of  an  aristocracy  is  official 
rank,  rather  than  blood  or  pedigree. 

The  Russian  nobility  has  not  the  same  origin  nor  the 
same  traditions  as  what  is  designated  by  the  same  name 
in  Western  Europe.  The  Russian  term  literally  means 
“  a  man  of  the  court,”  and  such  it  was  originally,  a  court 
nobility.  The  nobles  became  extremely  servile  after  the 
rise  of  Muscovy,  and  they  were  oftentimes  obliged  to 
submit  to  corporal  chastisement  as  humbly  as  the  serfs 
did  from  their  hands.  It  seems  strange  that  men  who 
had  once  been  free  and  intimate  associates  of  the  Grand 
Princes  should  ever  submit  to  such  humiliation.  The 
quarrels  for  precedence,  which  took  place  among  rival 


218  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


families  in  earlier  times,  was  a  peculiar  outgrowth  of 
the  class  system  under  the  Russian  patriarchal  idea  of 
the  family  as  a  unit.  Each  noble  family  had  its  rank 
in  a  recognized  order  of  dignity.  This  was  based  on 
the  position  which  had  been  held  by  the  family  in  the 
Czar’s  service.  The  whole  family  would  feel  disgraced 
if  one  of  its  members  accepted  a  post  lower  than  that 
to  which  its  rank  entitled  it.  When  an  appointment  was 
made  it  was  necessary  for  the  records  and  genealogical 
trees  to  be  searched  in  order  to  avoid  giving  offence. 
Many  quarrels  resulted  over  the  question  of  precedence. 
In  arranging  seats  at  an  Imperial  banquet  it  was  neces¬ 
sary  for  these  records  to  be  examined.  Paul  I  did  his 
country  a  good  service  when  these  records  were  des¬ 
troyed. 

On  the  whole  it  will  readily  appear  that  the  class  of 
nobles  cannot  be  called  an  aristocracy.  There  is  little 
resemblance  between  them  and  the  English  aristocracy. 
As  a  class,  scarcely  a  shadow  of  political  influence  was 
bestowed  upon  the  Russian  nobility,  even  by  Catherine, 
notwithstanding  the  liberal  phrases  she  habitually  em¬ 
ployed  toward  them.  The  wish  of  the  sovereign  must 
always  remain  supreme.  A  social  aristocracy  might 
include  a  limited  number  of  really  princely  Russian  fam¬ 
ilies,  who  date  their  origin  from  Rurik  or  Vladimir. 
This  title  has  been  bestowed  upon  a  very  few  other  fami¬ 
lies  by  Imperial  command.  A  few  families  also  bear  the 
title  of  baron  and  count,  which  were  German  importa¬ 
tions.  These  bear  the  Russian  title  knyas,  which  is  in¬ 
terpreted  prince. 

Primogeniture  never  received  much  encouragement 
among  Russian  nobles.  Equality  in  everything  is  the 
law  of  the  Russian  family  —  equal  rights  and  a  title  com¬ 
mon  to  all.  Not  only  is  the  ancestral  title  transmitted 


Noble  and  Tchinovnik 


219 


to  all  without  distinction,  but  the  father’s  possessions  are 
divided  impartially  among  all  the  sons.  The  daughters 
get  only  a  nominal  portion,  'if  there  are  brothers  —  one- 
fourteenth,  —  but  a  dowry  is  generally  given  them  when 
they  marry.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  dowry  may  equal 
a  son’s  inheritance,  as  it  has  in  many  instances.  Some¬ 
times  the  title  is  the  only  inheritance.  A  princely  de¬ 
scendant  of  Rurik  was  discovered  conducting  an  orches¬ 
tra  in  a  cafe,  and  many  princesses  may  be  found  singing 
in  common  music  halls.  There  are  princes  who  have 
driven  cabs,  and  princesses  who  have  become  ladies’ 
maids.  It  is  no  wonder  that  some  have  found  a  title 
an  encumbrance  and  dropped  it.  Nobility  now  brings 
no  special  privileges  or  exemptions,  as  in  former  days. 
The  noble  has  immunity  neither  from  taxes  nor  military 
service.  The  only  real  personal  privilege  left  is  that  it 
is  easier  for  him  to  enter  the  service  of  the  state  as  a 
tchin,  and  he  can  make  his  way  more  readily  to  the  upper 
ranks.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  much  less  aristocratic 
sentiment  in  Russia  than  will  be  found  in  England,  or 
even  in  republican  France. 

The  real  aristocracy  of  to-day  are  the  tchinovniks,  or 
men  with  tchins,  of  which  there  are  fourteen  ranks.  The 
purpose  of  Peter  the  Great  in  establishing  this  system 
was  to  have  a  large  and  well-drilled  army  of  officials 
ready  for  service.  To  each  rank  or  class  a  particular 
name  is  given.  The  tchinovniks  are  persons  employed 
in  the  government  service.  They  are  chiefly  drawn  from 
the  ranks  of  the  nobles  or  clergy.  The  civil  functions 
are  thus  arranged  much  as  grades  in  the  army.  A  per¬ 
son  entering  government  service  is  supposed  to  begin 
in  the  first  rank  and  work  his  way  upwards.  Promotion 
is  supposed  to  be  given  solely  on  personal  merit,  and  the 
tchin  to  remain  on  each  step  a  certain  specified  time, 


220  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


but  the  Imperial  will  may  here,  as  in  all  other  matters, 
ignore  the  established  restrictions.  Educational  certifi¬ 
cates,  however,  may  obviate  the  necessity  of  passing 
through  the  lowest  classes.  A  graduate  of  a  university 
is  entitled  to  the  lowest  class  of  this  hierarchy.  Each 
diploma  raises  him  one  rung  on  the  ladder.  The  rank 
occupied  by  the  government  official  at  a  particular  time 
establishes  his  class,  and  determines  the  office  to  which 
he  may  be  appointed.  Hence  the  word  tchin  does  not 
designate  any  actual  office,  although  it  is  a  little  mis¬ 
leading  to  a  foreigner. 

This  system,  which  seems  on  its  face  to  have  merit, 
in  reality  has  encouraged  slothfulness  and  mediocrity. 
Every  tchin  is,  in  a  measure,  part  and  parcel  of  the  sys¬ 
tem  of  bureaucracy,  and  his  position  makes  him  a  sup¬ 
porter  of  that  system.  It  also  entitles  him  to  wear  a 
uniform,  which  seems  to  be  one  of  the  highest  aims  of 
a  large  percentage  of  the  Russian  men.  The  tchin  bears 
an  important  part  in  the  Russian  official  world,  as  well 
as  in  the  social  life.  It  can,  however,  truthfully  be  said 
that  the  division  of  state  service  into  so  many  ranks  has 
lowered  rather  than  elevated  public  service. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  PEASANTS  AND  THEIR  COMMUNES 


Predominance  of  Agriculture  —  Origin  of  Serfdom  —  Emancipation  — 
Mir  —  Communes  —  Land  Captain  —  Poor  Farming  —  Cry  for 
Land  —  Moujik  —  Laziness  —  Queer  Ideas  —  Effect  of  Emancipa¬ 
tion  —  Drunkenness  —  Artisans  —  “  Go-aways  ”  —  Co-operative  In¬ 
stitutions. 

The  Russian  peasant  is  the  Russian  nation,  because 
the  peasants  so  overwhelmingly  outnumber  all  others.  It 
is  the  peasant  who  tills  the  soil,  fills  the  factories,  drinks 
the  vodka,  consumes  the  tea,  and  fights  his  country’s 
battles.  It  is  with  the  peasant  that  the  destiny  of  the 
Slav  race  rests.  The  middle  class,  which  is  the  stamina 
of  a  country  like  the  United  States,  has  not  yet  ap¬ 
peared.  When  such  an  element  does  arise,  it  will  un¬ 
doubtedly  spring  from  the  peasant  class,  who  compose 
from  eighty  to  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 

The  general  foundation  of  life  in  Russia  has  always 
been  agricultural.  It  has  only  been  in  comparatively 
recent  years  that  St.  Petersburg,  Moscow,  and  Warsaw 
have  reached  the  class  of  large  cities,  and  this  has  been 
through  the  establishment  and  development  of  manufac¬ 
turing  establishments.  Their  population  has  been  re¬ 
cruited  from  the  agricultural  peasants,  most  of  whom 
still  retain  their  connection  with  the  village  communes. 
Likewise  many  of  the  present-day  merchants  have  risen 
from  the  peasant  class,  and  still  retain  their  membership 
in  that  order. 

The  peasants  are  the  former  serfs  and  their  descend- 

221 


222  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ants.  By  the  great  act  of  emancipation  of  1861,  it  is 
estimated  that  forty-seven  million  two  hundred  thousand 
serfs  were  freed  from  their  allegiance  to  the  soil.  Of 
these  one-half  were  attached  to  state  lands.  In  earlier 
times  the  Slavs  were  a  wandering  people,  and  formed 
the  great  body  of  migrating  races,  who,  on  several  oc¬ 
casions,  threatened  to  subjugate  Western  Europe.  As 
an  intransient  form  of  government  arose,  and  especially 
after  the  Grand  Prince  of  Moscow  came  into  power,  a 
change  to  a  more  settled  state  of  affairs  became  neces¬ 
sary.  The  Czar  compelled  the  nobles  to  serve  him  and 
furnish  him  with  sustenance,  and  the  nobles  then,  by 
the  aid  of  the  Imperial  government,  had  recourse  upon 
the  peasants.  It  was  the  natural  outcome  of  the  Mus¬ 
covite  system,  in  an  age  before  the  idea  of  human  rights 
was  respected.  The  wealth  of  the  country  was  in  the 
soil.  A  grant  of  land,  without  labourers  to  till  it,  was 
worth  little.  The  population  was  likewise  small  in  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  land.  Hence  the  Imperial  government 
adopted  the  only  plan  which  seemed  to  present  itself, 
and  that  was  to  attach  the  workers  to  the  soil. 

Certain  free  communes  were  exempt  from  this  obliga¬ 
tion,  as  long  as  they  paid  annually  a  certain  poll  tax  to 
the  Czar.  At  first,  instead  of  diminishing  the  wandering 
tendency,  this  innovation  only  aggravated  the  evil,  and 
runaways  might  be  found  all  over  Russia  in  the  search 
of  a  better  fortune.  But  the  peasants  gradually  settled 
down  to  the  established  order  of  things.  In  theory,  the 
serf  was  supposed*  to  retain  all  the  civil  rights  that  he 
had  formerly  enjoyed  as  a  freeman;  in  fact,  such  abuse 
grew  up  in  practice  that  they  were  finally  sold  and  ex¬ 
changed  by  the  landed  proprietors,  like  personal  prop¬ 
erty,  and  even  families  were  separated.  Peter  the  Great 
and  Catherine,  instead  of  relaxing  the  chains  of  serfdom, 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  223 


as  one  might  have  expected,  drew  them  tighter,  and 
extended  the  system  to  new  sections  of  the  agricultural 
population.  Peter  needed  such  increased  revenues  that 
he  laid  greater  demands  upon  the  nobles,  and  laid  a  per 
capita  tax  on  each  serf.  To  aid  in  the  collection  of  this 
tax,  the  restrictions  on  the  serfs  were  increased.  The 
proprietors  were  given  the  right  to  punish  refractory 
ones.  Under  Catherine  they  became  in  fact  the  property 
of  the  nobles,  and  the  only  restriction  was  that  they 
could  not  openly  be  sold.  When  she  took  from  the 
churches  and  monasteries  their  lands,  the  peasants  liv¬ 
ing  on  them  became  the  serfs  of  the  state ;  but  their 
condition  was  made  little  better  in  the  change,  because 
of  the  exacting  officials  who  administered  the  land. 

Under  the  hardest  rule,  however,  each  family  had  a 
little  house  and  garden,  a  horse  or  two,  a  cow,  some 
sheep,  poultry  and  agricultural  implements.  Against 
oppression  and  extortion  the  serfs  had  little  protection, 
as  they  had  no  means  of  bringing  a  cruel  master  to 
punishment.  It  became  an  extremely  patriarchal  system, 
as  indeed  is  the  entire  Russian  social  organization.  As 
this  arrangement  gave  the  nobles  and  gentry  sure  labour 
and  their  riches  increased,  these  landed  proprietors 
sought  homes  in  the  cities.  Thus,  for  the  greater  part 
of  the  year,  the  serfs  were  left  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  a  steward,  who  was  frequently  an  exacting  German. 
Under  Paul  a  reaction  came,  and  the  serf  was  again  in 
a  great  measure  left  free  from  interference,  if  he  per¬ 
formed  the  labour  required  by  law.  In  general,  the 
peasant  was  required  to  labour  three  days  each  week 
on  the  proprietor’s  estate,  and  the  other  three  days  he 
was  permitted  to  cultivate  a  certain  number  of  acres, 
which  were  allotted  to  him  from  the  landlord’s  holdings 
for  his  exclusive  use  and  enjoyment.  For  this  reason, 


224  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

the  peasant,  in  his  ignorance  and  simplicity,  always  be¬ 
lieved  that  the  land  was  really  his;  that  the  gentry  had 
simply  been  placed  over  him  as  a  sort  of  government 
sentinel  or  official. 

“  We  are  yours,”  said  the  peasant,  “  but  the  land  is 
ours.”  The  peasant  was  not  far  from  right.  For  a 
long  time  grants  of  land  were  exclusively  used  as  re¬ 
wards  for  government  service,  and  the  gifts  were  not 
permanent.  The  gentry  were  required  to  serve  the  state 
in  an  active  capacity.  Later  land  was  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  families,  as  the  gentry  were  freed  from  their 
obligation  to  the  state  in  1762,  by  Peter  III,  a  hundred 
years  before  the  poor  serfs  were  delivered  from  their 
subjection  to  the  gentry.  They  were  probably  not  actu¬ 
ally  unhappy,  when  under  a  good  landlord,  for,  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  this  idea  of  actual  ownership  of  the  land,  they 
had  their  village  commune,  which  dispensed  justice  in 
minor  affairs,  and  in  their  eyes  was  a  wonderful  insti¬ 
tution. 

By  the  act  of  emancipation  the  peasants  received  some¬ 
thing  like  half  of  the  land,  to  be  held  as  the  property 
of  the  various  village  societies  It  was  by  far  the  most 
extensive  experiment  in  the  way  of  agrarian  legislation 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  About  three  hundred  and  fifty 
millions  of  acres  were  set  off  for  the  peasants,  an  average 
of  about  seven  acres  for  each  freed  serf.  This  averaged 
about  thirty-three  acres  to  the  family,  so  it  has  been 
estimated.  Writers  greatly  differ  as  to  the  fairness  with 
which  this  division  was  made.  It  is  probably  safe  to 
say  that  the  nobles  did  not  get  the  poorer  half.  Alex¬ 
ander  meant  all  right,  but  his  commission  was  terribly 
human.  A  few  intelligent  gentry  would  understand  the 
proper  influence  to  bear  better  than  a  community  of 
unschooled  peasants.  For  this  land  the  villages  had  to 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  225 


pay  a  fixed  price  in  small  instalments  to  the  nobles,  which 
payments  were  spread  over  fifty  years.  This  sum  was 
advanced  by  the  government,  so  that  it  became  the  cred¬ 
itor  of  the  peasant  communes. 

Certain  it  is  that  the  peasant  was  not  satisfied  with 
this  solution.  The  abstract  idea  of  liberty  signified  little 
to  him.  To  be  called  a  serf  was  to  him  no  disgrace. 
The  mention  of  the  great  rights  of  a  freeman  aroused 
in  him  no  enthusiasm.  What  he  wanted  was  land,  out 
of  which  to  make  a  living  for  himself  and  his  family. 
It  was  to  him  a  matter  of  historic  right,  as  well  as  ma¬ 
terial  advantage.  Then  to  be  required  to  pay  money 
for  land,  which  he  had  always  looked  upon  as  his  own, 
seemed  to  him  inexplicable  and  a  grave  injustice.  At 
various  times,  when  the  season  has  been  poor,  the  gov¬ 
ernment  has  remitted  some  of  these  payments,  and  re¬ 
duced  taxes.  It  is  no  common  thing  for  licensed  col¬ 
lectors  to  go  to  the  more  prosperous  districts,  and  col¬ 
lect  money  to  enable  the  peasants  of  a  famine  district 
to  meet  its  instalments  and  taxes.  And  it  may  be  said 
to  the  credit  of  the  Russian  people  that  their  contribu¬ 
tions  are  oftentimes  liberal  indeed.  An  Imperial  edict 
fixed  the  last  of  these  payments  in  1907,  although  the 
fifty  years  had  not  yet  expired. 

Freedom  gave  the  Village  Society  a  much  greater 
significance  than  it  had  before,  and  the  communal  sys¬ 
tem  was  placed  in  a  more  severe  trial.  The  historical 
origin  of  the  commune  is  a  matter  of  dispute.  The  own¬ 
ership  of  land  in  an  undivided  state,  however,  can  be 
traced  back  as  far  as  the  eleventh  century.  In  principle, 
the  Russian  village  —  the  Mir  —  is  an  independent  and 
self-governing  association  of  individuals.  It  is  the  pa¬ 
triarchal  system  of  the  home  applied  to  the  community. 
Russia  has  always  been  a  great  family.  “  Father,” 


226  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

brother,  “  uncle,  “  son,  “  auntie,”  are  the  natural 
terms  by  which  a  Russian  addresses  his  fellows.  Legal 
protection  is  afforded  to  the  community  in  the  same  way 
as  to  the  family.  The  family  cannot  be  deprived  of  its 
home  and  agricultural  implements,  and  the  village  cannot 
be  deprived  of  its  land  by  importunate  creditors.  Thus, 
in  the  most  autocratic  of  countries,  there  exists  the  most 
democratic  of  institutions.  It  is  an  unending  organiza¬ 
tion  which  dispenses  unwritten  laws.  The  heads  of 
houses  meet  together  in  free  council,  and  the  basis  is 
“  one  man,  one  vote.”  This  council  —  called  the  Skhod 
—  has  the  general  management  of  the  whole  village.  The 
matters  with  which  it  has  to  deal  are  those  that  most 
concern  each  individual  member.  It  can  divide  the  cul¬ 
tivation  of  the  land  among  its  members,  admit  new  mem¬ 
bers,  discipline  its  members,  buy  a  fire-engine  or  modern 
agricultural  machinery,  and  look  after  the  relief  of  its 
own  poor.  The  meeting  elects  an  Elder,  called  the 
Starosta,  who,  during  his  term  of  office,  has  the  duty  of 
calling  meetings  when  he  considers  it  necessary,  and  of 
presiding  over  them. 

Although  the  Elder  is  entitled  to  wear  a  bronze  medal, 
which  is  attached  to  a  chain  hung  around  his  neck,  it 
does  not  bring  any  special  respect,  and  the  small  salary 
of  a  few  roubles  does  not  compensate  for  the  trouble 
and  annoyance.  Hence  the  elections  create  little  excite¬ 
ment,  as  all  try  to  avoid  this  responsibility,  and  the 
holder  of  the  office  is  many  times  the  least  worthy  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  commune.  At  harvest  time  the  meetings  may 
be  held  several  times  a  week.  As  the  pasture  land  is 
held  in  common,  no  one  can  begin  to  mow  hay  until  a 
meeting  has  been  held  to  decide  on  a  suitable  day  for 
haymaking,  and  who  should  do  the  work. 

There  is  also  a  Village  Tenth  man,  whose  duty  it  is 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  227 


to  go  around  the  village  with  a  long  pole,  and  tap  on 
the  window  of  each  head  of  a  house  when  a  meeting  is 
called.  As  there  is  no  building  in  the  village  large 
enough  to  hold  all  the  members,  except  the  church,  where 
nothing  but  religious  services  can  be  held,  the  meetings 
are  held  in  the  open  air.  Any  unobstructed  space  will 
serve. as  this  forum.  The  discussions  are  often  animated, 
each  one  attempting  to  talk  in  a  loud  voice,  but  the  Rus¬ 
sian  peasantry  are  too  good-natured  to  enter  into  fistic 
encounters.  The  meeting  generally  resolves  itself  into 
little  groups,  and  then  these  melt  together  again,  and  the 
question  is  decided.  If  there  is  a  division,  the  Elder 
calls  all  those  in  favour  to  step  to  one  side  so  that  they 
can  be  counted.  Generally,  however,  most  measures  can 
be  decided  by  acclamation.  No  one  ever  thinks  of  dis¬ 
puting  the  decision  of  the  Mir.  As  it  is  a  thoroughly 
representative  institution,  the  Mir  reflects  both  the  good 
and  the  bad  qualities  of  the  villagers.  The  meetings 
are  generally  characterized  by  a  plain  and  practical  com¬ 
mon  sense.  As  the  commune  pays  all  of  its  taxes  in  a 
lump  sum,  the  Elder  and  a  tax-gatherer  proportion  and 
collect  each  villager’s  share. 

The  government  is  represented  in  each  community  by 
a  Land  Captain.  He  is  a  sort  of  official  country  squire, 
and  is  usually  not  popular.  The  Land  Captain  in  theory 
has  nothing  to  say,  but  in  practice  he  attempts  to  secure 
the  election  of  servile  men,  and  dictate  who  shall  be 
chosen  Elder.  It  is  little  wonder  that  the  system  of  Land 
Captains  has  become  very  unpopular. 

The  land  of  each  village  has  a  distinct  boundary. 
It  may  be  let  or  leased,  but  cannot  be  permanently  alien¬ 
ated  so  long  as  the  communal  system  exists.  One  village 
may  possess  two  or  more  tracts  rather  widely  separated, 
and  of  unequal  fertility.  This  is  divided  into  long  and 


228  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


narrow  strips,  according  to  the  number  of  male  members 
of  the  village.  The  aim  is  to  make  all  these  strips  as 
nearly  equal  to  each  other  in  area  and  quality  as  possible. 
In  order  to  equalize  matters,  a  family  will  be  assigned 
a  small  strip  in  each  tract,  and  this  makes  the  cultivation 
difficult.  In  some  villages  a  redivision  only  takes  place 
once  in  ten  or  twelve  years,  but  in  others  the  changes  are 
more  often  in  order  that  each  villager  may  have  his  turn 
in  the  rich  as  well  as  the  poor  sections. 

The  strips  are  often  terribly  narrow,  but  they  are 
platted  that  way  because  it  is  easier  to  plough  the  length 
than  to  turn  frequently.  They  may  be  as  wide  as  fifty 
yards,  but  many  are  no  wider  than  three  yards.  During 
the  growing  season  a  piece  of  village  land  has  a  motley 
look.  Here  is  a  gray  strip  of  oats,  next  a  brown  strip 
of  rye,  much  of  a  door-mat  colour  at  harvest-time ;  then 
there  may  be  a  yellow  line  of  flax  or  wheat,  and,  lastly, 
the  dark  green  of  a  strip  of  potatoes.  The  peasants  aim 
to  be  scrupulously  fair  in  the  division  of  the  land,  be¬ 
cause,  as  all  are  poor,  none  wishes  to  take  advantage 
of  a  neighbour  as  poor  or  poorer  than  himself.  The 
meadow  land  is  sometimes  divided  in  the  same  way, 
and  each  one  mows  his  own  little  plot,  but  more  gen¬ 
erally  the  meadow  is  mown  by  all  the  villagers  together, 
and  the  hay  afterwards  divided  into  portions  which  are 
distributed  by  lot.  One  may  see  a  great  band  of  the 
villagers  returning  from  their  haymaking,  carrying  their 
scythes  shouldered  like  spears  or  banners. 

One  of  the  bad  effects  of  this  system  of  cultivation  is 
poor  agriculture,  and  the  impoverishment  of  the  soil. 
The  peasant  knows  that  he  cannot  permanently  cultivate 
the  little  strip  assigned  him  for  a  certain  year,  and  he 
loses  the  incentive  to  keep  the  land  in  the  proper  condi¬ 
tion.  He  aims  rather  to  secure  as  much  from  it  as  is 


PEASANTS  AT  WORK  IN  THE  FIELDS 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  229 


possible,  and  his  neighbour  does  the  same.  A  family 
may  sow  what  it  likes  on  the  land  allotted  to  it,  but  all 
families  must  yield  to  the  accepted  form  of  rotation; 
one  family  cannot  even  begin  ploughing  before  the  time 
set  by  the  assembly,  as  that  would  interfere  with  the 
rights  of  others  who  may  use  the  fallow  land  as  pastures. 
Furthermore,  with  his  little  holdings,  he  cannot  afford 
to  purchase  improved  machinery,  but  goes  on  from  year 
to  year  utilizing  the  antiquated  implements  of  his  fore¬ 
fathers.  It  is  true  that  this  is  not  universal,  as  some  of 
the  communes  have  been  enterprising  enough  to  take  an 
advance  step  in  this  direction,  but  the  few  exceptions 
only  emphasize  the  general  condition. 

Another  hindrance  has  been  the  natural  increase  in 
the  villages  without  an  accretion  in  the  holdings.  It  is 
estimated  that  since  the  emancipation  the  population  has 
nearly  doubled,  while  the  amount  of  the  communal  land 
has  not  increased  proportionately.  After  the  agrarian 
troubles  of  1905,  when  the  agitation  about  expropriation 
was  so  rabid,  many  landlords  sold  a  portion  of  their 
holdings  to  the  peasants.  The  government  aided  in  the 
purchase  through  the  Land  Banks.  As  the  allotment  per 
man  was  originally  small,  in  many  instances  the  natural 
increase  in  the  villages  has  so  reduced  the  share  for  each 
member  that  there  is  not  enough  land  to  provide  a  living 
for  all.  Hence  it  is  that  one  hears  everywhere  among 
the  peasants  the  cry  that  there  is  not  enough  land.  This 
has  driven  many  away  from  the  land  to  the  cities, 
through  the  necessity  of  circumstances  rather  than  from 
choice.  The  small  holdings  so  many  times  subdivided 
have  also  prevented  the  villagers  from  keeping  many 
cattle,  which  is  unfortunate  in  many  ways. 

Taxes  may  not  seem  large,  but  to  the  poor  peasants 
in  a  bad  year  they  are  almost  like  an  insurmountable 


230  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


mountain.  They  vary  from  about  six  to  ten  dollars  for 
each  household.  But,  however  grievous,  they  must  be 
satisfied.  To  pay  these  they  are  often  obliged  to  sell 
what  is  really  needed  for  their  own  nourishment.  Then, 
before  another  harvest  comes,  they  must  buy  flour  for 
food  at  much  higher  prices.  Selling  at  a  low  price,  and 
buying  at  a  high  price,  is  not  a  very  profitable  business 
—  but  these  peasants  are  not  always  good  business  men, 
and  they  are  oftentimes  driven  by  circumstances  over 
which  they  have  no  control.  In  such  extremities  both 
individual  peasants  and  the  villages  become  victims  of 
the  Mir-eaters,  as  the  usurers  are  called.  Russia  could 
remedy  this  unfortunate  condition,  for,  excepting  Nor¬ 
way  and  Sweden,  she  is  the  least  densely  populated  coun¬ 
try  in  Europe,  and  has  more  than  her  share  of  fertile 
soil.  Much  of  the  present  forest  land  in  North  Central 
Russia  could  be  utilized,  and  a  great  amount  of  swamp 
land  all  over  the  country  might  be  reclaimed  at  a  com¬ 
paratively  small  expense. 

The  moujik  is  the  name  applied  to  the  Russian  peas¬ 
ants.  The  peasants  of  the  different  localities,  and  of 
different  races,  naturally  differ ;  but  it  is  of  the  general 
characteristics  that  I  will  treat  here,  and  especially  of 
the  great  agricultural  centres  of  Central  Russia.  Far 
from  being  degraded  and  brutalized  by  his  slavery,  the 
moujik  exhibits  a  great  deal  of  self-respect.  He  is,  above 
all,  kind-hearted,  friendly  and  sociable.  His  ignorance 
may  be  colossal,  but  his  patience  is  infinite.  In  his  very 
stupidity  there  is  a  rough  humour,  and  at  times  he  is 
very  merry.  One  can  never  feel  dull  with  the  moujik. 
His  mind  moves  rather  slowly  and  in  a  single  circle, 
but  it  is  full  of  kindly  shrewdness  and  wit. 

The  ordinary  costume  of  the  peasant  varies,  but  all 
wear  a  long  home-made  sheepskin  coat,  and  frequently 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  231 


wear  it  throughout  the  hot  summer  as  well  as  the  ex¬ 
treme  winter.  The  coat  is  generally  very  dirty  and  much 
patched,  unless  it  happens  to  be  a  new  one.  In  fact,  the 
sense  of  cleanliness  and  neatness,  as  the  German  under¬ 
stands  it,  is  absolutely  wanting.  He  is  inclined  to  be 
rather  lazy,  or  else  is  so  slow  that  the  term  laziness  does 
not  seem  misapplied.  He  has  the  most  marvellous  ca¬ 
pacity  for  wasting  time  without  any  reproach  of  his  con¬ 
science.  But  the  Russian  official,  who  devotes  four  or 
five  hours  to  his  office,  half  of  which  is  spent  in  drinking 
tea  or  smoking  cigarettes,  cannot  say  much.  No  matter 
how  pressing  his  work,  the  peasant  would  not  miss  one 
of  the  hundred  or  more  annual  holidays.  Add  the  mar¬ 
riages,  christenings,  burials,  birthday  celebrations  and 
fairs  to  the  religious  festivals,  and  Sundays,  and  national 
holidays,  and  there  are  only  about  two  hundred  working 
days  in  the  year.  There  are  no  people  in  the  world  who 
treat  aliens  more  kindly  than  the  Russian  moujiks.  They 
live  peacefully  side  by  side  with  hundreds  of  tribes,  Tar¬ 
tars,  Circassians,  and  Germans,  all  differing  in  both  race 
and  religion. 

One  of  the  unconventional  ideas  of  the  moujik,  to  the 
Western  mind,  is  his  idea  of  property  in  land.  But  when 
once  understood,  it  is  not  so  bad.  In  his  mind  there  can 
be  no  such  thing  as  ownership  in  virgin  land.  He  holds 
that  land,  being  an  article  of  universal  need,  made  by 
nobody,  ought  not  to  become  property  in  the  usual  sense 
of  the  word.  It  should  remain  in  the  undisturbed  pos¬ 
session  of  those  by  whom,  for  the  time  being,  it  is  cul¬ 
tivated.  Work  alone  gives  a  rightful  claim  to  its  pos¬ 
session.  Even  kinship  affords  no  right  to  the  property. 
Labour  is  always  supreme.  If  there  are  several  children, 
and  one  has  worked  at  home  longer  than  the  other,  he 
receives  the  lion’s  share.  If  the  father  should  attempt  to 


232  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

will  it  otherwise,  the  village  commune  would  not  hesitate 
to  break  the  will,  if  the  aggrieved  one  should  bring  it  to 
them  for  adjudication.  The  right  to  inheritance,  as  well 
as  the  right  to  enjoyment  of  land,  in  the  peasant  mind, 
is  founded  on  the  doctrine  of  work  alone. 

Another  peculiar  working  of  this  idea  is  in  case  of 
separation  between  husband  and  wife.  According  to 
peasant  law  the  wife  should  pay  alimony  to  the  husband, 
as  a  compensation  for  the  loss  of  labour  which  her  de¬ 
sertion  entails.  Women  are  treated  in  all  respects  on 
the  same  footing  as  men.  They  are  judged  on  the  basis 
of  labour  also,  for  this  alone  is  recognized  as  giving  an 
indefeasible  right  to  property.  Under  the  Russian  law 
wives  and  daughters  are  entitled  to  one-fourteenth  only 
of  an  estate. 

The  effect  of  emancipation  upon  the  peasantry  has 
been  the  subject  for  a  great  deal  of  speculation.  Com¬ 
missions  have  been  appointed,  and  voluminous  reports 
submitted  to  the  government.  It  is  a  difficult  field  in 
which  to  venture,  for  the  conditions  vary.  Accustomed 
to  depend  upon  the  master,  many  of  the  peasants  became 
either  dissipated  or  worthless.  In  others  it  aroused  latent 
ambitions,  and  they  progressed.  One  can  even  find  in 
some  villages  the  beginning  of  a  plutocracy.  Many  vil¬ 
lages  have  greatly  improved,  and  neat  little  houses  have 
been  built.  But  in  others  the  arrears  in  taxation  indicates 
a  very  unsatisfactory  condition  of  affairs.  This  now 
annually  amounts  to  many  millions  of  dollars.  One  of 
the  most  unfortunate  effects  has  been  the  decrease  in 
live  stock.  In  the  olden  time,  when  a  horse  or  cow  died, 
the  master  either  gave  or  loaned  another  animal.  It 
also  means  much  in  the  loss  of  manure  to  keep  up  the 
fertility  of  the  land.  There  can  be  no  question  that  it 
is  very  much  more  difficult  to  farm  well  a  large  number 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  233 


of  narrow  strips  of  land,  some  of  which  may  be  a  con¬ 
siderable  distance  from  the  barnyard,  than  a  compact 
piece  of  land,  which  the  farmer  can  divide  and  cultivate 
as  he  pleases. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  commune  system  will  long  sur¬ 
vive.  Changes  move  slowly  in  Russia,  but  eventually 
they  will  come.  Formerly  it  was  impossible  for  a  peasant 
to  separate  himself  from  the  commune,  except  by  a  ma¬ 
jority  vote  of  the  members,  but  now  it  is  possible  for 
him  to  do  so  upon  payment  of  all  his  obligations  to  the 
Mir ,  and  giving  up  his  interest  in  the  land.  According 
to  a  recent  law,  approved  by  the  Duma  in  1909,  each 
householder,  who  owns  a  share  of  the  land  belonging 
to  the  commune,  has  the  right  at  any  moment  of  demand¬ 
ing  that  his  share  shall  become  his  own  individual  and 
permanent  property.  He  has  also  the  right  to  demand 
an  amount  of  land,  corresponding  to  the  total  area  of 
his  strip,  in  one  place  as  near  as  possible.  It  is  too  soon 
to  speak  of  the  results  of  this  law.  According  to  the 
latest  statistics  available,  only  four  per  cent,  of  the  peas¬ 
ants  had  taken  advantage  of  the  provisions  of  this  law. 
Many  men  simply  go  to  the  towns  to  seek  employment, 
and  the  agriculture  is  left  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
women  and  children  under  the  old  arrangement. 

Drunkenness  has  been  one  of  the  besetting  sins  of  the 
peasant  of  Central  Russia.  In  Southern  Russia  I  did 
not  see  much  evidence  of  vodka-drinking,  but  at  Khar¬ 
kov,  in  Little  Russia,  the  first  evidences  appeared.  All 
through  Central  Russia  vodka-drinking  is  a  frightful 
curse,  and  the  peasant  has  undoubtedly  suffered  greatly 
from  it.  It  is  probably  true  that  the  total  amount  of 
liquor  consumed  in  a  year,  on  a  per  capita  basis,  is  not 
more  than  in  other  European  countries,  if  it  is  as  much. 
The  peasant  does  not  drink  every  day,  but  periodically. 


234  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Holidays  are  numerous,  and  on  that  day  and  the  next 
the  evidence  of  drunkenness  can  be  seen  on  every  hand. 
Even  when  drunk  his  good  nature  does  not  forsake  the 
peasant.  He  may  lean  for  hours  against  a  fence  or  wall, 
smiling  gently  at  the  passers-by.  If  be  becomes  demon¬ 
strative  at  all,  it  will  probably  be  to  throw  his  arms  about 
the  neck  of  another  moujik  and  kiss  him.  Vodka  is  a 
terrible  drink,  and  is  not  taken  for  its  taste.  All  swallow 
their  small  glasses  of  vodka  with  a  gulp,  and  take  it  only 
for  the  sensation  and  effect  that  follows.  The  upper 
classes  drink  it  only  before  meals,  as  an  appetizer.  The 
peasant  drinks  it  with  the  deliberate  intention  of  getting 
drunk. 

In  Kursk  and  Nijni  Novgorod  I  saw  more  drunken¬ 
ness  than  in  any  other  cities  that  I  visited,  although  in 
Moscow  it  is  bad  enough.  Many  attempts  have  been 
made  to  minimize  the  evil,  but  they  have  not  been  abso¬ 
lutely  successful,  any  more  than  similar  efforts  in  other 
countries.  If  the  Orthodox  Church  could  make  the 
peasants  refrain  from  the  excessive  drinking  of  vodka, 
as  successfully  as  it  does  the  use  of  animal  food  during 
the  numerous  fast  periods,  it  would  confer  an  inestimable 
benefit  upon  the  peasantry.  But  the  average  priesthood 
is  unfit  for  such  a  task. 

It  was  but  natural  that  Russia  should  attempt  the 
paternal  idea  of  government  monopoly.  In  1896  this 
plan  was  adopted.  The  number  of  dram  shops  was 
gradually  diminished.  In  the  country  vodka  was  not 
allowed  to  be  drunk  on  the  premises  or  on  the  street 
outside.  The  bottles,  when  sold,  were  sealed  up.  The 
peasant  has  a  speedy  way  of  opening  the  bottles.  The 
hours  of  sale  on  feast  days  were  also  limited.  Tea  rooms 
were  established  in  many  places  to  counteract  the  attrac¬ 
tion  of  this  fiery  liquor.  The  effect  of  this  effort  is 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  235 


problematical.  Drunkenness  has  been  driven  on  the 
street,  and,  as  one  result,  the  illicit  sale  has  greatly  in¬ 
creased.  The  peasant  is  willing  to  pay  a  few  kopecks 
more  at  such  places.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  drink¬ 
ing  has  increased  since  the  emancipation,  because  the 
peasants,  being  thrown  on  their  own  resources  for  the 
first  time,  took  advantage  of  their  liberty  in  this  way. 

The  Russians  call  the  peasants  dishonest,  but  the 
charge  is  at  least  questionable.  In  the  days  of  serfdom 
the  landlord  owed  a  living  to  his  serfs,  and  it  was  not 
a  crime  for  the  peasant  to  help  himself  to  firewood,  or 
timber,  or  even  agricultural  tools.  All  of  these,  like  him¬ 
self,  belonged  to  the  same  estate.  If  the  peasant  violated 
the  landlord’s  commands,  he  was  merely  punished  like 
a  naughty  child.  Now  things  have  changed.  The  peas¬ 
ant  has  not  yet  eradicated  the  idea  that  he  has  a  right 
to  the  land  of  his  former  master,  and  although  the  law 
might  call  his  appropriation  of  things  stealing,  in  his 
own  mind  the  crime  does  not  exist.  Should  he  find  a 
purse  belonging  to  the  landlord  or  his  family,  he  would 
doubtless  return  it,  even  though  in  great  need  himself. 
But  he  probably  would  not  think  it  a  crime  to  take  a 
basket  of  grain  or  piece  of  meat,  if  he  thought  he  would 
not  be  discovered.  No  more  does  the  idea  of  trespass 
on  the  noble’s  estate  worry  him,  for,  in  his  mind,  he  is 
only  treading  on  what  is  in  reality  his.  Hence  it  is  little 
wonder  that  the  nobles  apply  many  epithets  to  the  peas¬ 
ants,  for  their  conduct  is,  to  say  the  least,  oftentimes 
aggravating. 

One  will  find  many  wandering  artisans  over  Russia. 
There  will  be  scissors-grinders,  and  menders  of  various 
kinds  along  the  highways.  But  there  are  many  itinerant 
builders  as  well.  The  peasants  construct  their  own  izbas, 
but  do  not  understand  more  pretentious  carpentry,  such 


236  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


as  churches,  public  buildings  and  mills.  This  work  is 
undertaken  by  wandering  bodies  of  peasants,  who  are 
skilled  in  that  line.  This  is  a  twentieth-century  survi¬ 
val  of  the  custom  of  the  Middle  Ages.  For  instance,  the 
carpenters  and  joiners  of  the  Yaroslav  and  Vladimir 
districts  have  a  renown  all  over  Russia,  and  most  of  the 
native  household  furniture  comes  from  those  govern¬ 
ments.  In  the  government  of  Tver,  a  number  of  vil¬ 
lages  are  especially  noted  for  their  bamboo  furniture. 
Some  of  these  workmen  are  likewise  very  skilful  in  the 
making  of  the  crude  and  simple  machinery,  which  was 
in  common  use  before  the  introduction  of  later  models. 
In  the  outlying  districts  there  is  very  much  of  the  rude 
machinery  still  in  use,  and  being  installed  each  year. 

Being  transplanted  to  the  city  has  not  bettered  many 
of  the  peasants.  In  the  country  the  two  chief  recreations 
of  the  peasant  were  the  church  and  the  drink-shop.  The 
“  go-away  ”  is  likely  to  drop  the  former  in  a  great  meas¬ 
ure,  and  lose  its  restraining  influence.  Of  drinking- 
places  there  are  many  in  Moscow,  St.  Petersburg,  and 
the  other  cities.  In  Moscow  more  than  half  of  the  pop¬ 
ulation  consists  of  peasants.  They  come  from  the  prov¬ 
inces  of  Tula,  Kursk,  Nijni,  and  the  smaller  cities  all 
around.  Many  of  them  are  as  purely  peasants  as  you 
could  find  in  any  of  the  thatched  villages  of  the  country 
districts.  The  porters  who  abound  at  the  stations,  and 
take  such  good  care  of  you  and  your  baggage,  are  peas¬ 
ants.  The  cabman  dressed  in  his  big  blue  padded  over¬ 
coat  is  undoubtedly  a  peasant,  and  may  not  have  been 
in  the  city  very  long.  One  cannot  help  but  admire  his 
patience  and  stoicism  as  he  sits  or  nods  on  his  seat.  He 
probably  lives  there  the  greater  part  of  the  twenty-four 
hours  of  the  day,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  falls  asleep 
at  his  post.  In  a  pouring  rain  you  can  often  see  that 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  237 


he  is  thoroughly  soaked,  but  he  does  not  yield  to  the 
elements,  for  that  is  his  harvest.  I  have  seen  the  blue- 
coated  droshki  drivers  drive  around  looking  like  drowned 
rats,  but  fares  were  easy  then  and  the  izvostchick  was 
happy. 

Many  peasants  will  be  found  everywhere  looking  for 
odd  jobs  as  carriers  or  anything  else.  They  do  the  rough 
work  around  the  stores  and  stations.  Large  numbers 
are  engaged  in  factory  work,  and  a  factory  race  is  grow¬ 
ing  up  in  Russia.  Many  of  the  peasants  only  go  to  the 
cities  for  the  winter  season.  As  cold  weather  approaches 
thousands  of  peasants  may  be  seen  going  to  the  manu¬ 
facturing  centres  for  their  winter  employment.  In  some 
respects  they  look  like  bands  of  pilgrims.  They  form 
themselves  into  a  company,  or  artel,  and  elect  a  head, 
called  the  Starosta.  This  Starosta  looks  after  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  his  band,  and  engages  them  as  a  body.  He  hands 
over  to  the  manager  his  own  passport,  and  those  of  all 
his  company.  The  employer  oftentimes  builds  a  sort  of 
barracks  for  his  employees,  where  accommodation  is  fur¬ 
nished  at  a  low  rate.  Here  they  provide  for  themselves 
on  the  communistic  plan  —  each  one  paying  his  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  expense.  Oftentimes  the  Starosta  collects 
all  the  wages,  pays  the  bills,  and  returns  the  balance  to 
the  members. 

The  engagement  of  a  factory  hand  is  a  legal  docu¬ 
ment,  and  no  workman  can  contract  his  labour  without 
the  protection  of  the  law  courts.  The  laws  require  a 
written  contract  to  be  drawn  up  and  signed  by  both 
parties.  In  this  the  mutual  obligations  of  employer  and 
employee  are  set  forth  in  detail.  The  workman  binds 
himself  to  render  service  for  a  given  period  at  a  fixed 
wage,  and  the  employer  on  his  part  cannot  reduce  wages 
within  that  time,  or  discharge  the  employee  without  suf- 


238  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ficient  cause.  An  “  inspector  ”  represents  the  govern¬ 
ment  in  each  factory,  and  all  special  rules  and  regula¬ 
tions  must  be  approved  by  him.  He  is  the  official  arbiter 
between  master  and  man.  His  real  duty  is  to  look  after 
the  interests  of  the  employees.  This  system  works  both 
for  good  and  evil,  and  depends  for  its  results  on  the 
character  of  the  inspector.  If  he  is  not  intelligent  or 
is  corrupt,  as  many  of  them  undoubtedly  are,  the  men 
may  find  themselves  between  a  harsh  employer  and  a 
still  more  hard-hearted  inspector,  who  officially  acts  and 
speaks  for  them. 

Many  co-operative  institutions  are  maintained  by  the 
peasants  in  these  villages.  In  no  country  is  the  co¬ 
operative  interest  so  fully  developed  as  in  Russia.  In 
these  factories  they  make  a  variety  of  articles  out  of 
wood,  leather,  cotton  and  linen.  Many  thousands  find 
employment  in  making  fur  coats,  which  are  exported  to 
Asia.  Along  the  Volga,  near  Nijni,  enamelled  wooden 
spoons  are  turned  out  by  the  thousands.  They  make 
a  varnish  that  hardens,  and  is  impervious  to  water.  This 
is  a  secret  that  they  will  not  divulge.  These  spoons  have 
an  enormous  sale  all  over  Russia.  Other  villages  in  the 
same  neighbourhood  will  be  especially  skilful  in  the 
making  of  household  utensils  out  of  wood,  such  as  bowls, 
cups,  salt-boxes,  etc.  Wooden  toys  are  also  produced 
in  great  quantities.  Near  Nijni  there  are  nineteen  vil¬ 
lages  occupied  in  the  manufacture  of  axes,  and  in  the 
same  province  are  eighty  villages  that  produce  nothing 
except  cutlery.  One  neighbourhood  has  been  famous  for 
its  locks  for  a  hundred  years.  Sickles  made  near  Vladi¬ 
mir  find  their  way  all  over  the  Russian  Empire,  and  even 
in  the  Balkan  States.  Springs  for  the  droshkis  are  nearly 
all  made  in  villages  near  Rostov  the  Great.  In  the  prov¬ 
ince  of  Tver  are  many  tanneries,  and  one  will  find  the 


The  Peasants  and  Their  Communes  239 


villagers  engaged  in  making  saddles  and  harness,  boots 
and  shoes  —  in  fact,  almost  everything  that  can  be  pro¬ 
duced  out  of  leather.  One  of  the  specialties  is  the  high 
top-boots  so  much  in  demand  in  Russia.  The  women 
of  Torjok  embroider  Morocco  leather  with  gold  thread, 
and  make  beautiful  slippers  as  well  as  cushion  covers. 
This  art  was  learned  from  the  Tartars,  being  handed 
down  from  mother  to  daughter,  and  the  only  other  place 
where  one  will  find  the  work  done  is  in  Kazan. 

The  painting  of  icons  is  a  large  industry.  In  the 
provinces  of  Vladimir  and  Kursk  no  fewer  than  two 
millions  are  made  each  year.  Each  one  is  drawn  and 
painted  by  hand.  These  peasants  regard  this  work  not 
only  as  a  trade  but  a  religious  work  as  well.  The  icons 
sometimes  pass  through  several  hands  before  being  fin¬ 
ished.  Some  only  draw  the  figures  of  the  saints,  others 
put  on  the  background,  while  still  others  complete  by 
painting,  varnishing,  etc.  The  making  of  jewelry  is  an 
art  well  understood  by  them.  Bracelets,  lockets,  rings, 
brooches,  spoons,  etc.,  are  among  the  articles  produced 
by  them.  They  generally  work  entirely  on  a  communis¬ 
tic  plan,  and  share  the  profits  equally.  The  government 
has  done  a  good  deal  in  recent  years  to  develop  these 
industries,  realizing  the  necessity  of  providing  employ¬ 
ment  for  its  people.  In  some  towns  schools  of  embroid¬ 
ery  have  been  established  to  give  instructions  to  the 
peasant  women  in  that  art.  Lace-making  is  an  impor¬ 
tant  industry  in  some  sections. 

Many  unattractive  pictures  of  the  moujik  have  been 
painted  by  writers.  Few  of  us  have  the  broad  outlook 
upon  human  kind  that  we  should  cultivate.  Certain  un¬ 
pleasant  characteristics  repel  us.  A  recent  statement  of 
an  eminent  churchman,  who  had  spent  most  of  his  life 
in  foreign  fields,  greatly  impressed  me.  So  many  think 


242  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


this  chosen  people,  less  than  one-third  the  number  living 
in  Warsaw  alone.  The  vast  majority  of  the  Jews  did 
not  voluntarily  become  subjects  of  the  Czar.  They  were 
originally  Polish  subjects,  but,  as  that  kingdom  gradually 
became  dismembered,  the  most  of  them  fell  to  Russia. 
Thus  their  residence  within  the  greater  part  of  the  Pale 
antedates  the  sovereignty  of  Russia  by  several  centuries. 

There  are  records,  so  it  is  claimed,  showing  that  Jews 
inhabited  the  basin  of  the  Volga  and  the  Crimea  five 
hundred  years  before  Christ.  They  evidently  converted 
some  of  the  pagans  to  their  faith.  When  Germany,  Aus¬ 
tria,  France  and  Spain  began  their  persecutions  against 
the  Jews,  Poland  granted  them  exceptional  privileges  - — - 
that  is,  exceptional  as  Jewish  rights  went.  The  influx 
of  German  Jews  was  so  great  that  a  corrupted  Hebrew- 
German-Polish  language,  known  as  the  Yiddish,  arose, 
and  became  the  common  speech  of  the  race.  They  lived 
side  by  side  with  the  Poles  in  entire  amity  for  a  con¬ 
siderable  time.  As  Poland  grew  weaker,  however,  the 
lot  of  the  Jews  became  worse. 

The  Jewish  Pale  of  Settlement  is  a  strip  of  territory 
along  Western  Russia  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Black  Sea. 
It  is  an  area  of  perhaps  three  hundred  thousand  square 
miles,  and  includes  Poland,  Lithuania,  White  Russia, 
and  a  part  of  Little  Russia.  All  of  the  Pale,  with  one  or 
two  exceptions,  was  at  one  time  contained  within  the 
Kingdom  of  Poland.  The  Pale  includes  all  the  Polish 
province,  and  the  following :  Kovno,  Vitebsk,  Vilna, 
Mohilev,  Volhynia,  Grodna,  Minsk,  Ichernigov,  Poltava, 
Kiev,  Podolia,  Bessarabia,  Kherson,  Ekaterinoslav,  and 
Taurida.  There  is  a  further  exempt  strip  fifty  versts 
(about  thirty-three  miles)  wide  on  the  immediate  inter¬ 
national  border.  The  Jews  are  thickest  in  the  govern¬ 
ments  of  Mohilev,  Volhynia,  Kovno,  and  Minsk,  where 


The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates  243 


they  constitute  more  than  two-thirds  the  entire  popula¬ 
tion  of  the  towns.  In  Ekaterinoslav,  they  do  not  ex¬ 
ceed  fifteen  per  cent.  This  congesting  of  the  Hebrew 
population  in  these  districts  has  made  the  proportion  of 
urban  dwellers  much  larger  in  the  Pale  than  in  other 
parts  of  Russia. 

In  strict  law  the  Jews  are  forbidden  to  settle  outside 
the  urban  districts  within  this  Pale,  comprising  about 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  towns.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
there  are  thousands  who  do  dwell  in  the  forbidden  ter¬ 
ritory.  The  wealthy  Jews  live  like  their  Gentile  neigh¬ 
bours,  and  are  seldom  disturbed.  Money  can  do  many 
things,  and  rich  Jews  will  be  found  in  business  in  St. 
Petersburg  and  Moscow.  When  a  storm  arises  on  the 
political  horizon,  they  quietly  slip  out  of  town  for  a  few 
weeks,  and  then  they  as  mysteriously  return  when  the 
trouble  has  blown  over. 

Within  the  Pale  dwell  the  entire  Russian  Jewish  pop¬ 
ulation,  except  possibly  a  quarter  of  a  million  —  about 
one-eighth  of  the  whole.  Their  numbers  were  far 
greater  until  the  beginning  of  the  systematic  expulsions 
about  thirty  years  ago,  of  which  mention  will  be  made 
later.  They  have  nothing  in  common  with  their  Gentile 
neighbours.  They  resemble  them  in  only  one  character¬ 
istic  —  their  deep  attachment  to  religion,  for  which  they 
would  submit  to  any  sacrifice  or  persecution.  Even  with 
the  promise  of  a  gratuity  in  money,  and  restoration  of 
full  civil  rights,  there  are  probably  not  more  than  a  thou¬ 
sand  or  fifteen  hundred  converts  to  Orthodoxy  in  a  year. 
This  is  only  a  small  fraction  of  one  per  cent.,  much  less 
than  the  natural  increase.  Most  of  these  are  from  the 
wealthy  or  educated  classes,  too.  Within  the  Pale,  where 
the  Jewish  element  is  so  large,  curious  and  difficult  eco¬ 
nomic  conditions  naturally  arise. 


246  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  the  towns  within  the  Pale  are  places  of  only  five  or 
six  thousand  persons.  There  are  Pales  within  the  Pale, 
for  the  city  population  is  likewise  segregated.  In  this 
town  there  is  likely  to  be  an  imposing  Russian  church, 
while  the  synagogue  will  be  hidden  away.  There  must 
be  at  least  eight  hundred  Jews  in  a  community  before 
a  synagogue  can  be  built.  In  many  places  they  have 
almost  a  complete  monopoly  of  the  trade  and  commerce. 

A  Jewish  village  is  not  an  attractive  place.  It  is  even 
less  sanitary  than  its  Russian  counterpart.  The  extreme 
of  squalor  and  dilapidation  is  greater.  The  household 
refuse  is  simply  tumbled  into  the  street.  Although  the 
Russian  Jew  will  not  eat  pork,  plenty  of  pigs  will  be 
found  about  the  premises,  which  they  raise  for  their 
Orthodox  neighbours.  Dogs  and  the  gray-backed  crows 
appear  to  be  the  only  scavengers  at  work.  They  seem 
to  like  to  live  herded  together  in  human  pigstys. 

It  is  the  same  in  many  of  the  cities.  In  Warsaw,  for 
instance,  in  the  Jewish  quarter,  hundreds  of  persons  live 
in  little  courts  that  are  so  dilapidated  they  ought  to  be 
torn  down.  It  is  in  the  old  sections,  which  have  been 
abandoned  by  other  races,  that  they  swarm.  Thousands 
who  were  expelled  from  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg 
sought  asylum  in  W arsaw.  This  influx  made  the  Ghetto 
problem  a  great  deal  worse  than  it  was  before.  All  of 
the  Jews,  however,  are  not  really  poor,  and  they  could 
at  least  improve  things.  The  fact  is  that  they  are  con¬ 
tent  with  such  conditions.  On  the  streets  there  are 
always  plenty  of  the  Israelites  in  sight  —  men,  women 
and  children.  They  swarm  along  the  thoroughfares, 
seeming  to  have  nothing  else  to  do.  They  hang  around 
the  stores  waiting,  like  Micawber,  for  something  to  turn 
up.  They  are  wholly  interested  in  barter  and  trade. 
They  not  only  monopolize  the  old  clothes  business,  but, 


JEWISH  QUARTER,  WARSAW 


The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates  247 


if  a  Russian  brings  in  some  grain  or  a  horse  to  sell,  he 
will  employ  a  Jew  as  middleman. 

I  wanted  to  take  some  photographs  in  this  quarter, 
but  as  soon  as  I  found  the  right  grouping,  others  began 
to  pour  in  until  the  whole  sitting  was  spoiled.  In  one 
instance  at  least  a  hundred  stood  before  my  camera, 
until  the  narrow  street  was  blockaded,  and  they  were 
still  coming  from  every  direction.  I  started  away,  giv¬ 
ing  it  up  in  disgust,  but  a  crowd  of  small  boys  followed 
me,  wanting  to  see  what  would  be  done.  At  last  I 
jumped  on  a  passing  car,  as  I  feared  a  policeman  might 
become  curious,  and  I  had  neglected  to  secure  the  re¬ 
quired  permit  to  take  photographs  from  the  police  au¬ 
thorities. 

The  inquisitiveness  of  the  Russian  Jew  is  a  peculiar 
•characteristic.  There  is  an  awful  desire  in  him  to  know 
all  about  you.  When  I  have  met  him  on  the  trains, 
I  have  been  compelled  to  listen  to  questions  by  the  score, 
many  of  them  really  impertinent,  and  all  of  them  rela¬ 
tive  to  myself  and  where  I  was  going.  When  I  turned 
questioner,  he  would  immediately  shut  up  like  the  pro¬ 
verbial  clam.  All  of  them  seemed  able  to  talk  at  least 
a  little  German,  and  this  was  our  medium  of  communi¬ 
cation. 

In  Russia  persecution  has  lent  the  Jew  somewhat  the 
dignity  of  the  martyr.  If  the  unpleasant  characteristics 
existed  only  in  Russia,  one  might  excuse  many  of  them. 
But  in  Austria  and  Hungary  the  Jew  is  a  free  man.  He 
can  live  as  he  chooses,  wear  his  ringlets,  and  make  money 
in  any  way  he  sees  fit.  But  one  has  only  to  go  to  Cra¬ 
cow,  Lemberg,  Podwoloczyka,  Brody,  or  any  other  town 
in  Austrian  Poland,  and  find  the  same  characteristics 
repeated.  It  seems  as  though  these  are  the  habits  and 
ways  of  living  that  he  chooses.  He  is  equally  as  dis- 


248  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

liked  in  those  places.  The  banker  dislikes  him,  because 
the  trousers’  pocket  is  his  bank.  The  peasants  dislike 
him  and  even  fear  him,  because  he  is  about  the  only  one 
of  the  lower  classes  who  takes  the  trouble  to  learn  two 
or  three  extra  languages.  These  are  some  of  the  objec¬ 
tions  —  trivial  and  unreasonable  as  they  seem  to  us  — 
that  one  hears  against  this  race.  If  in  Russia  the  Jews 
are  compelled  to  live  in  certain  sections  near  the  market, 
in  Lemberg  they  do  so  from  choice.  In  the  latter  city, 
although  most  parts  of  the  municipality  are  fairly  clean, 
the  Jewish  quarters  are  at  times  almost  filthy. 

Either  isolation  or  the  influence  of  the  Ghetto  life  has 
made  the  Russian  Jew  narrow,  selfish,  crafty,  and  fanat¬ 
ical.1  He  is  unsympathetic  with  everything  outside  his 
own  religion.  He  would  rather  die  than  eat  anything 
not  prepared  in  the  old  Mosaic  way.  For  these  and  his 
other  unlovable  qualities,  no  nation  in  the  world  wants 
him.  His  co-religionists  in  Hamburg*,  Bremen  and  other 
places  simply  help  him  with  enough  money  to  reach 
North  or  South  America.  It  is  a  case  of  loving  him 
Only  with  the  seas  between.  When  he  reaches  New 
York,  he  is  oftentimes  sent  on  to  another  city.  About 
the  only  class  that  welcomes  him  is  the  owner  of  a  mis¬ 
erable  tenement,  scarcely  fit  to  be  tenanted  by  hogs,  and 
the  sweat-shop  employer,  who  sees  in  him  another  vic¬ 
tim  for  his  vampire-like,  blood-sucking  system. 

At  a  distance  one  sympathizes  deeply  with  these  mis¬ 
erable  human  beings,  who  have  remained  a  race  apart, 
and  follow  the  old  faith  without  change;  in  the  Ghetto 
one  fails  to  see  a  single  lovable  quality,  and  he  feels 
almost  a  contempt  for  them.  One  must  absolutely  re¬ 
nounce  all  ideas  of  cleanliness  and  honesty  in  order  to 

1  It  must  be  understood  that  the  descriptions  in  this  chapter  apply 
wholly  to  the  Polish  and  Russian  Jews  in  their  native  land. 


The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates  249 


find  anything  congenial  in  its  atmosphere.  However 
unpleasant  such  ideas  are  —  and  one  dislikes  the  very 
idea  of  harbouring  them  —  that  does  not  get  rid  of  the 
fact  that  they  arise.  “  Their  laziness,  their  filth,  their 
craftiness,  their  perpetual  readiness  to  cheat,”  says  Hugo 
Ganz,  in  “  The  Land  of  Riddles,”  a  German  work  trans¬ 
lated  by  Herman  Rosenthal,  an  educated  and  prominent 
Hebrew,  “  cannot  help  but  fill  the  Western  European 
with  very  painful  feelings  and  unedifying  thoughts,  in 
spite  of  all  the  teachings  of  history  and  all  desire  to  be 
just.” 

The  Jew  is  not  hard  to  recognize.  In  addition  to  his 
physiognomy,  for  which  Nature  is  responsible,  he  has 
acquired  a  shuffling  gait,  an  uneasy  glance,  and  a  stoop 
of  the  shoulders.  All  wear  a  little  cap  and  long  over¬ 
coat,  called  the  caftan,  which  comes  down  to  the  shoe 
tops.  Even  in  the  extreme  winters  they  will  not  adopt 
the  more  comfortable  Russian  dress,  but  wear  their  thin, 
flimsy,  oftentimes  buttonless  overcoats.  Whether  the 
wearer  has  warm  clothing  underneath,  the  onlooker 
knows  not.  This  black  coat  is  to  him  a  badge  of  re¬ 
spectability.  On  the  Sabbath,  however,  the  well-to-do 
Jew  will  put  on  a  better  coat  and  more  respectable  cap 
or  hat,  for  all  close  up  their  places  of  business,  even 
though  they  do  not  hesitate  to  talk  business  among  them¬ 
selves.  They  do  this  even  in  the  synagogue.  All  wear 
beards  and  have  the  hair  long.  The  ringlets,  of  which 
the  Polish  Jew  is  so  proud,  are  forbidden  in  Russia. 
At  Cracow  and  Lemberg  one  will  see  them  twisting  these 
ringlets  with  tender  care,  and  many  even  go  to  the  bar¬ 
ber  to  have  them  curled.  When  forced  to  cut  them  off 
during  his  term  of  army  service,  the  young  Jewish  youth 
actually  sheds  tears. 

The  Russian  Jew,  like  his  counterpart  across  the  bor- 


250  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


der,  keeps  his  hands  buried  in  the  sleeves  of  his  caftan, 
or  has  them  clasped  behind  his  back.  He  does  not  look 
any  more  wretched,  or  any  more  unhappy,  than  his  free 
brother  in  Austria.  The  Jews  do  not  look  as  though 
they  thought  their  lives  were  hanging  by  a  single  thread. 
The  poverty-stricken  and  consumptive-like  look  has  been 
spoken  of  so  much.  I  doubt  whether  they  are  naturally 
weaker  than  their  Russian  neighbours  —  certainly  they 
are  not  in  our  own  country.  It  is  quite  likely  that  some 
have  an  insufficient  quantity  of  nourishing  food  to  keep 
up  their  strength.  One  trouble  is  that  they  never  exer¬ 
cise,  are  content  to  live  in  filth,  and  have  no  regard  for 
sanitation  in  any  form.  These  at  least  are  not  forbidden 
by  either  the  Russian  or  Mosaic  laws.  The  Hebrew  Aid 
Society  in  Hamburg  compels  each  one  receiving  aid  from 
them  to  take  a  bath,  and  it  is  oftentimes  not  an  easy 
matter  to  do. 

The  Jewish  women  are  generally  poorly  dressed. 
Their  garments,  however,  are  usually  cut  after  modern 
fashion  plates,  but  the  skirts  are  ragged  and  bedraggled 
with  mud.  This  is  all  the  more  noticeable,  because  many 
of  the  younger  women  are  gifted  with  beauty.  Their 
principal  occupation  seems  to  be  standing  in  doorways, 
or  on  street  corners,  and  gossiping  with  each  other  or 
the  men  at  work.  This  is  not  because  they  cannot  work, 
for  they  have  all  been  trained  in  housekeeping,  if  not 
in  any  other  occupation.  All  married  women  are  sup¬ 
posed  to  wear  a  wig,  called  the  “  shaitel,”  but  this  obli¬ 
gation  is  quite  likely  to  be  evaded  in  some  way  by  the 
young  woman  who  has  beautiful  tresses. 

The  Jewesses  are  generally  married  very  early  —  at 
fifteen  or  sixteen.  Marriage  is  considered  necessary,  for 
an  old  maid  is  unpopular  with  both  men  and  women. 
It  is  a  grievous  matter  to  a  mother  who  has  an  unmarried 


JEWISH  CHILDREN 


The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates  251 


daughter  on  her  hands  much  past  the  age  of  twenty. 
When  a  girl  reaches  a  marriageable  age,  the  marriage 
brokers  advertise  her  beauty,  piety,  and  housewifely  tal¬ 
ents  ;  also  her  marriage  portion,  if  she  has  one,  and  the 
marriage  is  then  arranged  by  the  parents.  This  “  skat- 
chen  ”  will  be  found  in  every  town  of  any  size  within  the 
Pale.  If  the  parents  possess  means,  the  daughter  must 
have  a  dowry.  The  parents  of  the  young  man  will  prob¬ 
ably  stipulate  a  sum,  but  this  may  be  compromised.  The 
inclinations  of  the  prospective  bride  are  not  taken  into 
consideration,  unless  she  has  decided  opinions  of  her 
own,  as  some  girls  have  in  this  day  and  age.  The  mar¬ 
riage  brokers  of  different  towns  frequently  exchange 
lists.  It  is  to  their  interest  to  get  as  large  a  dowry  as 
possible,  for  their  compensation  is  usually  on  the  com¬ 
mission  basis.  Even  the  rich  Jews  often  live  in  a  very 
common  style,  entirely  at  variance  with  their  wealth. 
A  marriage  will  frequently  be  the  one  occasion  when 
they  break  away  from  this  habit  and  make  a  grand  dis¬ 
play  of  the  girl’s  dowry. 

It  is  an  unfortunate  fact  that  a  deplorable  percentage 
of  the  victims  of  the  white  slave  traffic,  in  both  the  Old 
and  New  Worlds,  come  from  the  miserable  homes  of 
the  Russian  and  Polish  Jews.  They  are  as  numerous 
proportionately  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  as  in  New  York.  Not 
only  does  this  lapse  of  virtue  affect  the  individual,  but 
it  is  bound  to  have  a  reactionary  effect  on  the  entire 
family  life. 

The  Russian  Jew  of  to-day  is  a  survival  of  the  times 
of  the  Sanhedrin.  The  law  is  still  administered  by  the 
rabbis  throughout  Russia,  wherever  the  Jews  are  to  be 
found.  It  would  be  next  to  impossible  to  induce  a  colony 
of  this  race  to  live  even  in  the  smallest  town  unless  there 
is  a  rabbi  among  them.  If  this  religious  leader  dies,  the 


252  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


elders  at  once  communicate  with  the  chief  rabbi  of  their 
district,  who  sends  them  one  on  approval  until  a  new 
one  is  elected.  As  a  rule,  the  salary  is  not  large,  and 
his  position  is  similar  to  that  of  the  parson  in  the  De¬ 
serted  Village.  He  is  given  a  home,  however,  and  the 
congregation  will  at  least  see  that  food  is  in  the  house. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  rabbi  to  see  that  his  people  ob¬ 
serve  the  law  of  the  Talmud,  and  follow  the  prescribed 
ceremonies.  He  must  affix  his  seal  to  all  meat  sold  by 
Christians  to  his  flock.  If  a  butter  knife  should  acci¬ 
dentally  be  used  for  meat,  he  decides  whether  the  meat 
can  be  eaten.  If  milk  has  accidentally  been  spilled  on 
meat,  it  cannot  be  eaten  without  the  approval  of  the 
rabbi.  He  arbitrates  disputes  between  master  and  serv¬ 
ant,  husband  and  wife,  neighbour  and  neighbour,  and 
from  his  decision  there  is  no  appeal.  From  the  birth  to 
the  grave  he  is  the  law  and  the  prophet  to  his  chosen 
people.  The  many  little  things  prescribed  by  the  law  of 
the  Talmud,  under  the  literal  interpretations  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  Jews,  seem  absurd  to  us,  but  they  are  serious  mat¬ 
ters  to  that  race. 

The  Russian  Jew  does  not  want  to  be  an  agricultural¬ 
ist.  Baron  Hirsch  tried  the  experiment  of  establishing 
a  colony  of  Russian  Jews  in  Argentina,  and  expended 
millions  of  dollars  upon  the  project.  It  has  not  been  a 
success,  for  most  of  them  soon  drift  to  Buenos  Aires, 
Rosario  or  Montevideo.  They  do  not  work  at  trades 
that  involve  much  physical  exertion.  But  they  engage 
in  such  lighter  occupations  as  shoemaking,  tailoring, 
cabinet-making  and  painting.  Most  of  the  men  learn 
at  least  a  couple  of  these  trades,  so  that  if  work  in  one 
is  slack  they  can  work  at  the  other.  Should  these  Jew¬ 
ish  artisans  all  leave  at  one  time,  they  would  be  greatly 
missed  in  the  communities.  They  generally  work  by 


The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates  253 


contract,  for  then  there  is  a  chance  to  earn  more  money. 
In  this  way,  too,  they  can  make  good  use  of  the  young 
boys  apprenticed  to  them.  The  Jew  becomes  a  hard  task¬ 
master  under  these  circumstances.  In  order  to  benefit 
himself  one  Jew  will  often  denounce  to  the  police  an¬ 
other  who  has  become  an  active  competitor.  The  Rus¬ 
sian  is  hardly  more  heartless  toward  the  Jew  than  the 
wealthy  merchant  oftentimes  is  toward  his  poorer  breth¬ 
ren.  This  is  often  exercised  through  the  “  clique  ”  in 
the  congregation.  It  will  interfere  in  almost  every  de¬ 
tail  of  family  life,  and  can  make  life  miserable  for  the 
offender. 

Many  Jews  are  money  lenders.  The  easy-going  Rus¬ 
sians  fall  ready  victims  to  this  class.  Officials  borrow, 
and  then  have  to  steal  to  pay  back  the  money  with  usury. 
If  the  money  lender  learns  of  the  crookedness,  then  the 
borrower  is  in  a  still  sadder  plight.  It  gives  a  chance  for 
blackmail  as  well.  But  this  class  includes  only  a  small 
proportion  of  the  race,  and  some  of  the  worst  usurers 
are  Russians.  Most  of  them  are  engaged  in  business  of 
a  more  legitimate  kind.  The  Russians  say  that  if  they 
could  only  get  rid  of  the  Jews,  Russian  traders  would 
take  their  places.  That  is  questionable.  In  many  places 
the  wholesalers  and  buyers  of  produce  are  practically  all 
Jews.  The  Russian  wants  a  fifty  per  cent,  profit;  his 
Hebrew  competitor  will  take  five  per  cent,  father  than 
lose  a  sale.  The  Jew’s  conscience  does  not  trouble  him, 
however,  if  he  can  get  the  fifty  per  cent.  Vodka  distil¬ 
leries  are  owned  by  that  race,  and  they  are  the  innkeepers 
as  well.  Family  rings  or  syndicates  practically  control 
all  business  in  some  communities.  This  occasionally 
almost  strangles  them. 

The  fact  is  that  most  of  the  Jews  are  miserably  poor, 
and  especially  so  since  the  added  congestion  of  the  last 


254  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


thirty  years.  Credit  them  with  all  the  worst  qualities 
attributed  to  the  race  by  the  most  bitter  anti-Semite,  it 
would  be  hard  to  conceive  of  the  eighty  Jews  in  some 
communities,  where  four-fifths  of  the  population  are 
Hebrews,  making  a  very  rich  living  ofif  the  remaining 
twenty  Christians,  many  of  whom  are  almost  as  poor 
as  themselves,  either  by  loaning  them  money  or  cheating 
them  in  barter  and  sale.  Most  of  them  probably  have 
not  enough  money  to  buy  railroad  tickets  for  themselves 
and  families  to  the  frontier.  This  extreme  poverty  has 
brought  out  one  good  side  of  these  Jews,  for  their  char¬ 
ity  and  philanthropic  institutions  merit  the  admiration 
of  all  regardless  of  race  or  religion. 

Not  more  than  ten  per  cent,  of  the  pupils  in  a  univer¬ 
sity  may  be  Jews,  although  this  rule  is  somewhat  relaxed 
in  some  instances.  This  leads  to  some  unexpected  results. 
As  so  small  a  proportion  of  Jews  are  admitted,  and  there 
are  so  many  applicants,  only  the  very  brightest  minds 
stand  much  show.  The  examinations  are  unusually  se¬ 
vere  in  their  tests  of  Jewish  applicants.  Practically  no 
Jews  gain  admittance  who  have  not  distinguished  them¬ 
selves  in  the  inferior  schools.  These  chosen  few  soon 
show  their  superiority  and  begin  to  rise  over  the  other 
ninety  per  cent.,  who  have  not  been  so  carefully  chosen. 
At  the  end  they  are  likely  to  come  out  with  the  highest 
honours.  Those  who  do  not  go  into  business  enter  the 
professions  of  law  or  medicine,  for  these  are  the  only 
liberal  professions  open  to  them,  and  soon  forge  to  the 
front.  The  sacrifices  that  parents  will  undergo  in  order 
to  give  an  education  to  the  sons  are  pathetic.  They  real¬ 
ize  that  this  is  the  only  way  by  which  the  burdens  of 
restrictive  laws  can  be  lifted  from  the  youth. 

Ever  since  the  time  of  Catherine  the  Great,  when  the 
Pale  was  established,  there  have  been  alterations  and 


The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates  255 


modifications  of  this  district.  At  times  the  Jews  have 
been  enticed  out  by  leniency,  and  then  again  driven  back. 
Nicholas  I  was  especially  severe  upon  them,  and  heavy 
pressure  was  brought  to  win  them  over  to  baptism. 
Under  Alexander  II  was  the  “  golden  age,”  for  he  re¬ 
versed  almost  every  policy  of  his  father  during  the  first 
half  of  his  reign.  As  a  result,  Jews  flocked  to  cities  out¬ 
side  of  the  Pale  by  the  thousands.  They  were  allowed 
to  do  contracting,  banking,  etc.,  and  the  era  of  rich  Jews 
began.  Even  before  the  death  of  Alexander,  however, 
Jewish  riots  had  begun.  Envy  and  Nihilism  both  con¬ 
tributed  to  this  revulsion.  The  assassination  of  the  Czar 
in  1 88 1  caused  a  reign  of  terror  in  many  cities.  Syna¬ 
gogues  were  burned,  and  the  Ghettos  sacked  in  many 
towns.  The  segregation  began  again  with  renewed 
vigour.  Jews  were  forbidden  to  carry  on  business  on 
Sundays  and  the  principal  Christian  holidays.  It  is  esti¬ 
mated  that  a  quarter  of  a  million  souls  or  more  fled  from 
Russia  in  1881  and  1882. 

Pobiedonostsev,  the  Procurator  of  the  Holy  Synod 
under  the  last  two  reigns,  undoubtedly  had  a  great  deal 
to  do  with  the  severity  of  the  crusades  against  the  Jews. 
The  number  of  Jews  in  educational  institutions  was  lim¬ 
ited,  and  they  were  forbidden  to  maintain  schools  of  their 
own.  The  climax  came  in  1891.  Perhaps  thirty  thou¬ 
sand  Jews  lived  in  Moscow  at  that  time,  professional  men 
and  artisans.  They  dwelt  in  what  was  known  as  the 
Zariadie  quarter,  a  miserable  section  of  the  city.  Cos¬ 
sack  troops,  under  orders  from  the  Governor-General, 
raided  these  quarters  and  forcibly  ejected  many  from  the 
city.  All  rights  of  residence  to  artisans  were  withdrawn. 
Every  train  carried  away  groups  of  these  pitiable  out¬ 
casts.  The  wealthier  ones  helped  their  poorer  brethren, 
and  outside  relief  came  in  as  well.  Within  a  few  months 


256  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


most  of  the  colony  had  disappeared.  In  St.  Petersburg 
the  same  exodus  was  enforced,  and  the  Jewish  colonies 
still  left  are  comparatively  small. 

There  is  no  question  that  the  Jews  have  been  subjected 
to  even  severer  persecution  in  Russia  in  the  past  decade. 
At  the  Kishinev  massacre,  on  Easter  Sunday,  1903, 
forty-seven  Jews  were  killed  and  almost  six  hundred 
wounded,  more  or  less  severely.  Seven  hundred  houses 
were  destroyed,  six  hundred  pillaged,  and  at  least  two 
thousand  families  were  utterly  ruined.  Kishinev  is  the 
capital  of  the  government  of  Bessarabia,  and  was  form¬ 
erly  a  part  of  Roumania.  It  has  a  population  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  of  whom  one-third  or 
more  are  Jews.  Kishinev  was  formerly  a  prosperous 
town  controlling  the  trade  with  Odessa,  Roumania  and 
Southern  Austria.  Jewish  merchants  had  a  big  share 
of  the  trade.  The  trouble  began  through  the  publication 
of  anti-Jewish  articles  in  a  newspaper  published  in  that 
city.  This  publication  went  so  far  as  to  accuse  the  Jews 
of  ritual  murders.  As  a  result  the  Orthodox  population 
was  thoroughly  aroused.  This  newspaper,  however, 
was  the  government  organ  in  that  city,  and  there  was 
no  censorship  exercised.  There  were  at  least  five  thou¬ 
sand  troops  in  the  city  subject  to  the  call  of  the  authori¬ 
ties,  when  the  riots  broke  out.  They  were  not  used. 

Such  disorder  would  not  be  permitted  in  any  other 
civilized  country,  whether  directed  against  Jews  or  any 
other  race.  The  authorities  did  not  make  any  effort  to 
stop  the  rioting  until  they  were  afraid  it  would  get  be¬ 
yond  control,  and  thus  endanger  the  lives  and  property 
of  the  Orthodox  population.  This  affair  stirred  up  the 
whole  world,  because  of  the  terrible  reports  that  were 
sent  out  by  correspondents.  Resolutions  of  Hebrew  and 
Christian  organizations,  denouncing  this  outrage,  were 


The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates  257 


passed  by  the  hundred  and  sent  to  the  Czar,  but  were 
not  received  by  him. 

The  Kishinev  incident  was  not  the  latest  or  greatest 
instance  of  anti-Semite  disorder.  In  November,  1905, 
serious  anti-Jewish  riots  occurred  in  Odessa,  where  the 
race  was  more  powerful  and  influential  than  anywhere 
else.  It  is  a  fact  that  it  is  the  Jews  who  put  in  motion 
and  practically  regulate  the  currents  of  business  life  that 
move  in  and  out  of  Odessa.  Deprived  of  Jewish  cap¬ 
ital  and  brains,  that  city  would  lose  much  of  its  impor¬ 
tance.  The  sons  seem  to  have  the  same  successful  traits 
as  their  fathers,  and  many  of  them  are  entering  the  pro¬ 
fessions  where  they  are  equally  as  successful  as  their 
fathers  were  in  commercial  lines.  Although  not  loved 
by  any  means,  the  Jews  had  always  had  greater  freedom 
in  that  city  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  Empire.  It 
was  easy  to  arouse  a  race  antipathy,  however,  when  mur¬ 
der  and  anarchy  were  in  the  air  over  almost  the  entire 
country.  The  governor-general  allowed  a  demonstra¬ 
tion  of  the  organization  known  as  the  loyalist  Black 
Band.  Hundreds  of  its  members  had  been  allowed  to 
carry  arms  by  the  officials.  Many  were  mere  boys,  and 
others  were  the  toughs  and  rowdies  that  naturally  will 
be  found  about  a  great  port.  Their  principal  duty  was 
supposed  to  be  the  revenging  of  the  general  public  for 
the  killing  of  policemen  and  officials  by  unknown  anar¬ 
chist  or  revolutionary  bands. 

For  three  days  Odessa  lay  at  the  mercy  of  lawlessness 
and  disorder.  The  results  were  seen  when  three  hundred 
and  fifty  bodies  were  heaped  into  a  common  grave  in 
the  cemetery.  In  the  Jewish  quarter  whole  rows  of 
houses  stood  desolate.  The  marks  of  bullets  were  thick 
upon  the  walls.  Women  and  children  are  said  to  have 
been  thrown  out  of  the  upper  stories  of  buildings  on  to 


258  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


the  stony  streets  below.  It  is  little  wonder  that  a  police¬ 
man  was  picked  off  occasionally  by  some  Jew  from  a 
secure  hiding-place.  The  great  wonder  is  that  they 
restrained  themselves  as  much  as  they  did,  for  two  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  or  more  lived  there,  according  to  sta¬ 
tistics. 

An  English  friend  of  mine,  who  lived  in  Odessa  dur¬ 
ing  this  time  of  troubles,  told  me  the  following,  which 
I  give  verbatim:  “In  the  Jewish  quarter  whole  streets 
of  shops  were  looted,  and  that  which  was  not  taken  or 
destroyed  was  strewn  throughout  the  streets.  Many 
horrible  crimes  were  perpetrated  every  day.  After  the 
worst  of  the  massacres  was  over,  a  friend  and  I  visited 
the  Jewish  cemetery,  where  scores  of  bodies  were  lying 
out  in  the  open ;  moving  amongst  them  were  many  peo¬ 
ple  seeking  to  identify  relations.  Children  were  looking 
for  parents,  and  vice  versa.  Altogether  it  was  a  horrible 
scene.” 

An  American,  who  lived  there  at  that  time,  and  whose 
name  I  dare  not  mention,  told  me  that  some  Jews  were 
warned  beforehand  that  if  a  certain  amount  of  money 
was  paid,  their  families  and  property  would  be  inviolate. 
Those  who  did  not  pay  suffered  with  the  rest.  I  men¬ 
tion  this  to  show  that  these  riots  were  deliberately 
planned,  and  a  firm  stand  on  the  part  of  the  officials 
could  have  prevented  them.  The  misery  of  the  poor 
Jews  at  that  time  was  extreme.  They  lived  in  cellars, 
or  crowded  into  unsanitary  rooms  like  pigs.  The  police 
reports  blamed  the  Jews  for  everything.  If  a  shot  was 
fired,  it  was  blamed  upon  a  Jew,  when  it  might  have  been 
done  by  a  member  of  the  Black  Band  in  order  to  start 
an  anti-Jewish  riot,  which  meant  a  chance  for  pillaging 
the  shops.  The  punishments  of  the  few  who  were  ar¬ 
rested  \Vere  trivial,  in  the  eyes  of  an  American.  The 


The  Jewish  Pale  and  Its  Unfortunates  259 


same  was  true  in  Kishinev.  Although  a  number  were 
sentenced  to  prison  at  hard  labour  for  from  two  to  seven 
years,  none  were  executed  and  the  real  leaders  escaped. 
Compare  this  action  with  the  treatment  of  other  disor¬ 
ders  of  the  same  year  when  directed  against  the  gov¬ 
ernment. 

What  is  the  solution?  One  can  have  none  without 
the  co-operation  of  the  Russian  government.  The  best 
thing  for  Russia  would  be  to  remove  all  restriction  laws, 
or  even  forcibly  distribute  the  Jews  evenly  over  the  Em¬ 
pire.  Such  a  separation  would  be  better  for  the  race 
as  well  as  the  Empire.  They  would  then  only  form 
about  four  per  cent,  of  the  population.  They  would  un¬ 
doubtedly  help  business  conditions  in  many  places,  where 
Russians  seem  unable  to  cope  with  the  problem.  The 
percentage  would  be  so  small  that  they  could  not  harm 
the  non-Jew  traders.  The  horizon  of  the  strict  Talmud¬ 
ists  would  be  broadened,  for  they  undoubtedly  have 
within  them  the  elements  of  better  things.  They  are 
at  least  entitled  to  life,  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  and  a 
reasonable  degree  of  liberty.  The  world  would  be  rid 
of  a  serious  problem.  The  United  States  would  be  freed 
from  its  own  threatened  Ghetto  problem,  for  the  Russian 
and  Polish  Jews,  who  come  to  our  shores,  simply  add 
to  the  congestion  of  our  largest  cities. 


CHAPTER  XV 


SOME  CUSTOMS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS 

Russian  Traits  and  Inconsistencies  —  Nirhevo  —  Lack  of  Discipline  over 
Self  —  Procrastination  —  Good  Nature  —  Tipping  —  Love  of  Music 
—  Tea  —  Eating —  Kvass  —  Vodka  —  Lack  of  Ventilation  —  Heat¬ 
ing  —  Russian  Baths  —  Bargaining  —  Picture  Signs  —  Funerals. 

“  Are  you  not  afraid  to  go  to  Russia?  ” 

This  question  was  asked  me  many  times  by  friends 
before  I  started  for  that  country.  I  mention  it  because 
it  illustrates  a  widely  prevalent  opinion  concerning  the 
Russians.  So  many  class  the  Slav  with  Mongols,  Per¬ 
sians,  and  the  undisciplined  Asiatics  in  general.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  he  is  the  reverse  of  barbarous;  he  is  peace¬ 
able,  malleable,  tractile,  and  pliant ;  likewise  the  ordinary 
Russian  is  essentially  a  democrat.  His  humanity  is  warm 
and  generous;  his  Christian  charity  gives  a  wide  toler¬ 
ance  to  the  failings  and  foibles  of  his  fellow  creatures. 

One’s  opinion  of  Russia  is  sure  to  be  contradictory. 
There  is  no  so-called  civilized  country  where  there  has 
been  so  much  cruelty  since  the  Dark  Ages,  and  yet  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  a  people,  whether  peasant  or 
noble,  more  kind-hearted,  charitable  and  full  of  the  bet¬ 
ter  humane  qualities.  One  might  sum  up  these  qualities 
as  kindliness,  a  desire  to  please  others,  and  a  wish  not 
to  offend.  Foreigners,  who  have  resided  in  Russia  for 
years,  unite  in  this  view.  This  is  but  one  strange  para¬ 
dox  out  of  many  that  one  meets  face  to  face  in  Russia. 
I  can  explain  it  in  no  other  way  than  that  the  good  qual- 

260 


Some  Customs  and  Characteristics  261 


ities  are  the  natural  characteristics,  while  the  harsher 
qualities  are  the  veneer  of  tradition  and  environment. 
The  officials  do  their  severe  repressions  in  support  of  a 
traditional  autocracy.  The  common  people,  incited  by 
the  real  and  fancied  wrongs  of  their  environment,  be¬ 
come  intoxicated  into  a  frenzy  and  stop  at  nothing  — 
not  even  cold-blooded  murder.  The  next  day  the  peasant 
may  repent  in  tears.  His  appearance  and  acts  under  the 
influence  of  these  two  forces  is  as  different  as  that 
of  a  man  when  sober  and  when  saturated  with  alco¬ 
hol. 

Every  race  has  more  or  fewer  of  these  irreconcilable 
qualities,  but  in  the  Russian  they  exist  in  a  greater  de¬ 
gree.  In  fact,  some  philosophic  writers  attribute  these 
qualities  to  the  influence  of  climate.  The  battle  with  the 
hostile  forces  of  nature,  they  say,  has  developed  in  the 
Great  Russian  qualities  of  tenacity,  energy,  and  strength. 
The  insuperable  forces  of  nature,  on  the  other  hand,  have 
developed  qualities  of  patience,  resignation,  and  even 
weakness.  The  former  has  developed  a  hardness  of 
character  by  the  very  bitterness  of  the  struggle;  the  lat¬ 
ter  has  taught  him  to  sympathize  with  the  afflicted  and 
desolate.  He  applies  to  his  adversary  or  enemy  a  brutal 
treatment,  but  he  would  meet  the  same  punishment  him¬ 
self  with  stoicism.  But,  although  these  qualities  exist 
side  by  side,  the  milder  predominates.  The  Russian,  and 
especially  the  peasant,  is  naturally  a  humane  being,  com¬ 
passionate  and  human,  peaceful  and  disinclined  to  fight. 
In  travelling  over  the  country  one  will  see  fewer  exam¬ 
ples  of  actual  brutality  than  in  Latin  America. 

“  Nichevo  ”  is  a  common  answer  of  a  Russian  where 
it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  him.  The  same  word 
expresses  that  happy-go-lucky,  what-does-it-matter  spirit 
so  characteristic  of  him  - —  a  readiness  to  submit  to  what- 


262  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ever  fate  has  in  store  for  him.  Closely  allied  to  this 
spirit  is  the  lack  of  discipline  and  restraint  over  self. 
When  the  Russian  eats,  he  eats  to  excess.  If  he  plays 
cards,  he  never  wants  to  stop  because  the  hour  grows 
late.  If  he  takes  to  socialistic  philosophy,  no  limitation 
is  set  to  his  views.  If  he  seeks  political  liberty,  it  must 
be  absolute.  If  he  wants  to  indulge  the  passions,  no 
moral  laws  will  stop  him. 

This  disinclination  to  submit  to  discipline  is  one  of  the 
noticeable  phases  of  Russian  character,  and  is  probably 
the  result  of  the  duality  of  characteristics  described 
above.  This  extreme  idea  of  personal  liberty  has  un¬ 
doubtedly  aided  in  maintaining  the  autocratic  form  of 
government,  and  has  been  one  of  the  chief  obstacles  to 
the  achievement  of  political  liberty  as  understood  and 
accepted  among  Western  nations.  Political  liberty  does 
not  mean  license,  and  cannot  exist  without  a  certain 
amount  of  constraint  upon  the  individual.  Peter  the 
Great  well  illustrates  the  Russian  character.  Maurice 
Baring  characterizes  him  as  follows :  “  He  was  an  un¬ 
paralleled  craftsman,  the  incarnation  of  energy;  un¬ 
bridled  in  all  things;  humane,  but  subject  to  electric 
explosions  of  rage ;  he  spoke  well,  wrote  badly,  and 
drank  deep.” 

Autocratic  and  severe  as  the  Russian  government  is 
in  political  affairs,  there  is  no  country  in  the  world,  not 
even  the  United  States,  where  the  individual  enjoys  so 
great  a  measure  of  personal  liberty;  where  there  is  so 
little  moral  censorship ;  or  where  an  individual  can  do 
as  he  pleases  with  so  little  interference  or  criticism.  A 
censorship  of  the  press  or  theatre  on  moral  grounds  is 
almost  unthinkable  to  the  Russian.  Matters  are  openly 
discussed  in  newspapers  which  would  not  even  be  men¬ 
tioned  in  an  American  periodical.  Every  foreigner  re- 


Some  Customs  and  Characteristics  263 


siding  in  the  country,  with  whom  I  talked,  spoke  of  the 
low  moral  standard.  In  many  cases  it  is  doubtless  an 
unmorality  rather  than  an  immorality,  resulting  from 
this  radical  idea  of  personal  liberty  and  lack  of  disci¬ 
pline  over  self. 

I  had  thought  that  the  Spaniards’  manana  was  the 
maximum  of  procrastination,  but  it  is  nothing  to  the 
Russian  habit  of  putting  everything  off.  Even  the  cal¬ 
endar  is  thirteen  days  behind  our  own.  The  ordinary 
railway  train  is  scheduled  so  slow  that  the  engineer  has 
difficulty  in  throttling  the  engine  down  to  keep  within 
it.  A  stop  of  eight  minutes  is  rare,  and  fifteen  minutes 
at  most  stations  is  more  common.  Saturday  is  not  a 
good  day  for  business,  because  Sunday  is  coming;  and 
Monday  is  worse,  because  Sunday  is  just  over.  There 
are  so  many  holidays  that  the  average  working  year  con¬ 
tains  only  about  two  hundred  and  twelve  days.  Easter 
alone  takes  one  week,  and  Christmas  seven  days  more.  In 
some  districts  any  establishment  that  works  on  holidays 
is  subject  to  fine.  The  expression  “  In  reply  to  yours 
of  even  date,  etc.,”  is  unknown.  An  American  Consul 
informed  me  that  a  wait  of  two  or  three  months  is  noth¬ 
ing  at  all  uncommon.  The  American  Ambassador  re¬ 
cently  received  a  letter  from  a  government  official,  in 
answer  to  a  letter  written  by  his  predecessor  almost  two 
years  previously.  Thus  again  is  the  Spaniard’s  laurel 
taken  from  him.  Poor  Don! 

The  Russian  patience  and  good  nature  is  well  exem¬ 
plified  in  travelling.  The  express  trains  charge  an  extra 
fare  for  a  “  platz  kart,”  but  in  most  stations  these  can¬ 
not  be  obtained  until  a  half-hour  before  the  train  starts. 
Hence  the  Russian,  frequently  accompanied  by  his 
friends,  reaches  the  station  sometimes  an  hour  before 
the  train  starts,  as  there  is  sure  to  be  a  line-up  in  front 


264  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  the  ticket  window.  He  hires  one  of  the  porters  to 
get  into  line  and  secure  his  ticket,  as  well  as  look  after 
his  baggage,  for  no  Russian  would  carry  his  own  traps. 
In  the  meantime  the  traveller  and  his  friends  adjourn 
to  the  restaurant,  and  pass  the  time  in  eating  or  drinking 
tea.  If  it  is  a  night  journey,  the  Russian  brings  with 
him  a  blanket,  towels,  and  pillow,  surely,  and  frequently 
his  own  sheets,  for  no  bedding  is  furnished  on  Russian 
sleepers  unless  extra  is  paid.  In  fact,  the  compartment 
is  likely  to  be  filled  with  the  packages  and  bundles  of 
the  passengers.  The  Russian  prefers  his  own  bedding, 
and  then  he  knows  whether  it  is  clean  or  not.  He 
strongly  dislikes  using  sheets,  blankets  or  towels  that 
are  in  a  sense  public  property.  This  is  the  reason  that 
in  some  hotels  they  charge  you  for  bed  linen,  for  form¬ 
erly  nearly  all  travellers  were  supplied  with  their  own 
linen  and,  if  they  were  not,  an  extra  charge  was  con¬ 
sidered  reasonable.  The  Russians  do  not  consider  the 
transporting  of  this  extra  luggage  any  impediment  what¬ 
ever. 

The  tipping  is  endless.  At  the  hotel  you  have  your 
room  waiter,  who  brings  your  breakfast  and  sees  that  no 
extra  is  omitted  from  your  bill.  Then  there  is  the  cham¬ 
bermaid,  who  makes  your  bed ;  the  “  boots,”  who  cleans 
your  shoes;  the  general  utility  man,  who  carries  your 
baggage ;  the  boy  who  hangs  up  your  coat  and  hat ;  the 
elevator  boy,  if  there  is  such  a  luxury;  the  bell  boy,  who 
tips  his  hat  every  time  you  look  in  his  direction ;  and 
the  door  boy,  who  does  the  same  every  time  you  go  in 
or  out.  The  porter  is  the  most  important  of  all,  and 
deserves  a  sentence  to  himself.  He  is  the  general  in¬ 
formation  man,  has  a  smattering  of  one  or  two  other 
languages,  and  would  scorn  a  few  kopecks,  but  likes  the 
looks  of  silver.  When  you  engage  a  room  it  does  not 


Some  Customs  and  Characteristics  265 


always  include  bed  covering,  or  towels,  or  light,  and 
it  is  very  pleasant  to  find  these  extras  on  your  bill.  As 
I  said  before,  your  room  waiter  sees  that  none  of  these 
escape,  and  you  are  expected  to  fee  him  for  his  faith¬ 
fulness.  Great  and  marvellous  is  this  Russian  system  of 
tipping,  and  I  raise  my  hat  to  its  wonderful  ingenuity 
and  completeness. 

Russians  of  all  classes  are  very  fond  of  music,  and 
are  naturally  musical.  A  good  opera  or  ballet  is  always 
well  patronized.  But  it  is  of  the  peasants  that  I  wish 
to  speak  especially.  One  will  hear  music  everywhere  in 
the  villages.  The  charm  of  many  of  the  songs  is  inde¬ 
scribable.  One  who  has  heard  several  regiments  of  sol¬ 
diers  singing  will  never  forget  the  impression  made  upon 
him.  A  body  of  workmen  will  likewise  frequently  sing 
while  at  their  task.  The  music  has  a  peculiar  cadence, 
and  is  hard  to  reduce  to  written  form.  It  is  based  on 
a  natural  scale.  That  is  the  reason  that  the  written  cop¬ 
ies  of  the  folk-songs  poorly  resemble  the  actual  songs 
one  hears.  They  have  songs  for  every  occasion.  The 
music  of  many  is  a  chant,  which  accompanies  one  or  two 
lines  of  the  songs,  and  constantly  repeats  itself  to  the 
end. 

There  are  choral  songs  to  celebrate  the  changes  of  the 
seasons,  festivals  of  the  Church,  and  various  peasant  oc¬ 
cupations.  The  themes  of  these  songs  are  not  always 
pleasant.  Wife-beating,  husband’s  infidelities,  horrible 
stories  of  witches  and  vampires  are  common  subjects. 
A  wife,  who  is  being  beaten,  entreats  her  spouse  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  “  Oh,  my  husband,  only  for  good  cause  beat  thou 
thy  wife,  not  for  little  things.  Far  away  is  my  father 
dear,  and  farther  still  my  mother.”  The  national  mu¬ 
sical  instrument  is  the  balalaika,  a  sort  of  three-stringed 
guitar.  The  accordion  is  also  a  very  popular  instrument, 


266  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  the  demand  for  graphophones  is  only  limited  by  the 
resources  of  the  peasants. 

“  The  Russian  drinks  tea  all  day,”  said  a  Pole  to  me 
when  I  commented  on  the  English  habit  of  afternoon 
tea.  And  so  I  observed  in  travelling  over  Russia.  Morn¬ 
ing,  noon  and  night  it  is  tea,  tea,  tea.  The  Russian  al¬ 
ways  takes  his  tea  without  milk  and  golden  in  colour. 
The  peasant  drinks  just  as  much  in  quantity,  only  weaker. 
To  all  classes  tea  is  the  only  refined  beverage.  It  is  to 
the  Russian  what  coffee  is  to  the  Brazilian,  and  beer  to 
the  German.  It  is  invariably  served  in  a  glass  boiling 
hot,  and  with  a  slice  of  lemon  to  flavour  it.  I  have  seen 
a  Russian  drink  five  and  six  glasses  of  tea  at  a  single 
sitting.  On  all  occasions  when  a  bargain  has  been  con¬ 
cluded,  or  on  receiving  or  taking  leave  of  a  friend,  tea 
is  given  instead  of  wine  or  brandy.  Russian  tea  is  cer¬ 
tainly  an  excellent  article,  and  the  Russians  claim  that 
its  superiority  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is  brought  over¬ 
land  by  caravan,  and  is  never  exposed  to  the  sea  atmos¬ 
phere,  which  destroys  the  flavour. 

The  samovar  is  a  national  culinary  utensil.  It  is  a 
poor  peasant  indeed  who  has  not  his  samovar.  It  is  a 
sort  of  hollow  water  kettle,  or  tea-urn,  in  the  centre  of 
which  a  charcoal  fire  is  kept  burning.  This  keeps  the 
water  constantly  boiling.  The  name  literally  means 
“  self-boiler.”  On  the  top  is  set  a  small  kettle  in  which 
the  tea  is  steeped.  A  little  of  this  tea  is  poured  into  a 
glass,  which  is  then  filled  with  the  boiling  water.  Nearly 
all  business  places  keep  one  of  these  samovars  ready  at 
all  times,  and  every  little  while  a  glass  of  tea  is  passed 
around.  A  visitor  is  sure  to  be  offered  a  glass  of  this 
excellent  tea.  At  least  half  of  the  clerks  in  a  bank,  when¬ 
ever  you  call,  will  be  found  to  have  tea  before  them,  or 
a  glass  that  has  just  been  emptied.  The  foreign  visitor 


Some  Customs  and  Characteristics  267 


very  easily  falls  a  victim  to  this  same  mania  for  the  cup 
that  cheers  but  does  not  inebriate. 

The  Russians  love  the  good  things  of  life,  and  no  one 
need  hesitate  to  enter  the  country  for  fear  of  not  getting 
enough  to  eat.  They  are  good  cooks  and,  personally, 
I  prefer  the  Russian  to  the  French  cooking,  much  as  the 
latter  is  praised.  Their  soups  are  most  excellent.  They 
always  cook  and  serve  meat  with  them,  and  thick  sour 
cream  to  add  to  your  taste.  It  sounds  strange,  but  tastes 
good.  Fish  soups  are  also  very  popular.  One  of  the  best 
is  called  the  ukha.  The  okroshka  is  a  cold  soup  to  which 
Russians  are  very  partial.  It  is  made  of  such  things  as 
are  found  on  the  zakuska  table,  together  with  fruits  and 
kvass.  With  all  soups  little  pies  containing  fish  or  meat 
are  served.  Potatoes  in  some  form  are  served  with 
nearly  every  dish.  With  desserts  they  are  as  successful 
as  with  their  excellent  confections.  It  must  be  said, 
however,  that  many  Russians  have  a  very  noisy  and 
rapid  way  of  eating.  And  their  capacity  seems  unlim¬ 
ited. 

There  is  always  a  buffet  at  one  end  of  the  dining-room, 
where  are  served  what  the  French  name  hors  d’ oeuvres, 
the  appetizers.  This  is  called  the  zakuska.  Here  are 
set  the  dishes  which  are  calculated  to  tickle  the  palate. 
The  Russian  men  first  resort  to  this  buffet,  and  precede 
the  eating  with  a  little  vodka  as  an  extra  appetizer.  The 
salads  are  usually  composed  of  fish,  hard-boiled  eggs, 
salted  cucumbers  and  onions.  One  will  generally  find 
raw  or  smoked  salmon,  hard-boiled  eggs  cut  in  slices, 
cheese  of  various  kinds,  and  fresh  caviar  —  all  of  these 
laid  on  bread  and  served  as  little  sandwiches.  There  will 
also  be  radishes,  and  perhaps  some  other  vegetable,  and 
a  bottle  of  vodka.  Many  of  the  large  private  homes 
maintain  the  same  sort  of  a  sideboard  lunch. 


268  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


An  uninitiated  American  is  almost  ready  to  complete 
his  dinner  at  the  zakuska,  while  the  Russian  is  simply 
laying  a  foundation  for  the  grand  superstructure  that  is 
to  follow.  When  an  American  is  ready  to  quit,  the  Rus¬ 
sian  is  just  coming  to  his  appetite.  The  Russians  think 
that  Americans  have  poor  appetites  or  digestion,  because 
they  eat  so  little.  They  call  it  “  eating  like  a  chicken,” 
whatever  the  comparison  may  mean.  The  Russians  are 
very  fond  of  fish,  and  in  large  establishments  you  can 
purchase  live  fish  in  a  tank  and  have  them  prepared  for 
you  while  you  wait.  In  a  real  Russian  restaurant  the 
waiters  all  dress  in  neat  and  clean  white  suits,  which  are 
certainly  an  improvement  over  black  and  is  a  commend¬ 
able  custom.  The  waiters  watch  the  guests  and  antici¬ 
pate  almost  every  wish,  instead  of  the  guests  being 
obliged  to  keep  their  eyes  on  the  waiters. 

Kvass  is  the  oldest  national  drink  of  Russia.  It  is 
made  from  either  bread,  apples  or  cranberries,  and  is 
only  slightly  fermented.  The  stronger  alcoholic  drink 
of  the  country  is  vodka.  The  vodka  industry  is  an  ex¬ 
tremely  important  one  in  many  sections.  This  liquor 
is  generally  made  from  potatoes,  although  it  is  also  dis¬ 
tilled  from  rye  in  some  sections  of  the  Empire.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  summer  the  scene  around  a  vodka  dis¬ 
tillery  is  rather  animated.  Scores  of  peasant  wagons 
come  from  every  direction,  bringing  enormous  quantities 
of  potatoes.  These  are  deposited  in  long  tunnels  cov¬ 
ered  with  earth  to  a  thickness  of  three  or  four  feet,  and 
lined  with  timber,  where  the  potatoes  are  stored  until 
needed.  The  earthen  covering  protects  them  from  freez¬ 
ing.  The  distillery,  if  in  the  Jewish  Pale,  will  almost 
surely  be  in  the  hands  of  one  of  that  nationality.  When 
the  government  established  a  monopoly  of  the  vodka 
trade,  it  was  a  severe  blow  to  these  Jewish  distillers. 


Some  Customs  and  Characteristics  269 


The  government  is  endeavouring  to  reduce  the  consump¬ 
tion  of  this  real  “  fire-water,”  and  to-day  it  can  only  be 
purchased  at  a  government  shop  during  stated  hours, 
and  each  bottle  bears  the  official  stamp.  The  residue  of 
the  potatoes,  after  the  vodka  has  been  extracted,  is  a 
valuable  food  for  cattle.  The  product  of  these  distil¬ 
leries  is  one  of  the  strongest  spirits  that  one  will  find 
in  common  use,  and  it  is  little  wonder  that  it  has  wrought 
distress  and  ruin  among  the  Russian  peasantry. 

The  Russian  does  not  seem  to  be  a  great  lover  o.f 
fresh  air.  The  traveller  in  that  country  is  impressed  with 
this  characteristic  on  every  hand.  In  the  railway  coaches 
the  atmosphere  is  at  times  almost  stifling.  And  this  is 
especially  appreciable,  if  several  not  overly  clean  Rus¬ 
sians  happen  to  occupy  the  same  compartment.  The  win¬ 
dows  are  all  double,  and  an  objection  would  be  immedi¬ 
ately  raised  if  one  would  raise  the  sash  to  let  in  a  little 
fresh  oxygen.  I  have  travelled  all  night  that  way  in 
the  greatest  discomfort.  The  same  is  true  in  private 
homes  and  in  hotels.  The  windows  there  are  all  double, 
and  in  the  fall  are  securely  fastened,  the  cracks  tightly 
packed  with  putty  or  some  substance,  and  they  are  not 
again  opened  until  the  warm  weather  of  spring.  Only 
one  little  pane  in  each  room  is  left  unfastened,  but  even 
this  is  seldom  opened.  When  I  left  this  pane  open  for 
ventilation,  I  would  almost  invariably  find  it  closed  on 
my  return.  The  reason  undoubtedly  is  the  severity  of 
the  climate,  and  the  fresh  air  must  be  heated,  which  is 
expensive. 

How  the  people  manage  to.  keep  healthy,  breathing  a 
heated  and  vitiated  atmosphere  the  greater  part  of  the 
time,  is  one  of  the  inexplicable  features  of  Russian  life. 
One  would  think  that  all  would  become  victims  of  tuber¬ 
cular  affection.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  mortality,  espe- 


270  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


dally  among  children,  is  very  large.  Cases  of  longevity, 
however,  are  more  numerous,  so  it  is  said,  than  in  the 
other  countries  of  Europe.  The  most  dangerous  period 
is  during  the  spring  thaws.  The  refuse,  which  has  been 
thrown  out  in  the  snow  during  the  winter,  then  thaws 
and  fills  the  atmosphere  with  its  foul  vapours. 

The  Russians  have  solved  the  problem  of  heating  very 
well,  and  their  houses  are  usually  overheated.  Great 
stoves  are  built  in  the  walls  and  covered  with  glazed 
tiles.  They  are  so  constructed  therein  that  one  stove 
serves  to  warm  two  rooms.  They  are  monumental  con¬ 
structions  and  reach  nearly  to  the  ceiling.  The  lower 
part  contains  a  chamber  about  three  feet  in  length,  and 
about  half  that  depth  and  height.  This  is  the  fire-box, 
and  is  filled  with  wood.  The  flames  shoot  upward,  when 
lighted,  and  then  descend  the  passages  before  escaping. 
The  heated  air  passes  through  many  passages,  and  grad¬ 
ually  warms  the  huge  mass  of  stone  of  which  the  stove 
is  composed.  In  the  morning  the  stove  is  filled  with 
birch  wood,  and  after  the  wood  is  reduced  to  coals,  the 
door  and  flues  are  closed  and  the  stove  radiates  abundant 
caloric.  Once  thoroughly  warmed  the  stove  will  retain 
its  heat  during  the  entire  day  of  twenty-four  hours.  In 
large  country  homes  there  may  be  a  dozen  such  stoves. 
Public  buildings  are  kept  as  warm  as  private  dwellings. 

But  plenty  of  wraps  are  needed  for  the  street,  or  the 
people  would  become  chilled.  Every  one  wears  heavy 
furs,  donning  them  at  the  first  cold  snap,  the  purse  simply 
dictating  the  quality  of  furs  to  be  worn.  Fur  caps  and 
coats  are  universal,  and  in  the  coldest  months  every  one 
is  so  bundled  up  that  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to 
recognize  even  an  acquaintance  except  by  his  dress.  All 
have  the  appearance  of  suffering  from  a  severe  form  of 
dropsy.  The  overshoe  business  must  be  an  important 


Some  Customs  and  Characteristics  271 


one  in  Russia,  for  everybody  wears  them  even  into  late 
spring.  The  long  row  of  overshoes  to  be  seen  in  every 
hotel  and  restaurant,  each  with  the  owner’s  initials  in 
them,  is  a  very  characteristic  sight.  They  are  not  the 
flimsy  kind  worn  so  much  in  the  United  States,  but  sen¬ 
sible  and  substantial.  Military  officers  even  fasten  their 
spurs  to  their  overshoes. 

Snow  is  so  frequently  associated  with  darkness  and 
gloom.  This  is  not  true  over  most  of  Russia.  When 
the  snow  does  fall  it  comes  down  in  showers  of  micro¬ 
scopic  darts,  which  glitter  and  sparkle  as  they  are  re¬ 
flected  in  every  direction.  The  sky  is  frequently  as 
bright  and  blue  as  an  Italian  sky;  the  atmosphere  is 
clear  and  pure,  and  the  sun  may  shine  for  several  hours. 
Then  the  reflection  of  the  snow  becomes  perfectly  daz¬ 
zling.  All  the  pedestrians  seem  to  be  blowing  forth 
columns  of  smoke  or  steam  into  the  frosty  atmosphere. 
The  moonlight  nights,  when  the  wind  is  still  and  snow 
deep  on  the  ground,  are  delightful.  In  the  country  the 
frozen  surface  crunches,  but  scarcely  sinks  beneath  the 
sledge.  If  the  moon  shines  directly  over  the  ermine-like 
snow  the  night  becomes  light,  and  the  solitude  is  broken 
only  by  the  bells  of  some  distant  team.  On  such  nights 
many  picnic  parties  are  formed  for  drives,  with  a  good 
supper  to  be  served  somewhere  on  the  route. 

Among  the  peasants  the  weekly  vapour  bath  is  a  most 
important  event.  This  custom  of  a  weekly  bath  is  as  old 
as  Russian  history.  It  has  a  certain  religious  signifi 
cance,  for  the  peasant  thinks  he  must  cleanse  himself 
physically,  as  well  as  morally,  before  entering  the  sanc¬ 
tuary  at  service  on  Sunday  morning.  It  takes  place  on 
Saturday  afternoon  or  evening.  Care  is  then  taken  to 
avoid  all  pollution  until  after  service  on  Sunday  morn¬ 
ing.  Most  villages  possess  communal  baths,  and  on  Sat- 


272  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


urdays  one  may  see  a  whole  string  of  peasants  flocking 
to  them.  Otherwise  the  peasant  takes  his  weekly  bath  in 
the  bake-oven.  The  whole  family  —  father,  mother,  and 
children  —  indulge  in  what  we  should  term  a  Turkish 
bath  here.  After  the  bath  the  oven  is  whitewashed 
afresh,  and  is  again  ready  to  do  its  duty  in  providing 
the  family  with  the  staff  of  life. 

The  temperature  is  raised  so  high  during  the  Banii 
that  one  not  used  to  it  is  in  fear  of  suffocation.  In  the 
winter  time  the  peasant  rushes  out  of  the  superheated 
oven  and  rolls  himself  in  the  snow;  otherwise  his  helper 
will  pour  pailfuls  of  cold  water  over  him.  But  the  bath 
of  the  Russian  is  not  always  such  a  success  as  you  would 
imagine,  for  he  frequently  immediately  dons  the  same 
clothes  that  he  has  worn  for  many  weeks.  As  a  general 
rule,  however,  he  will  put  on  at  least  a  clean  shirt.  Of 
other  clothes,  coat,  boots  and  great-coat,  he  probably  has 
no  change.  Hence  the  Russian  peasant  is  oftentimes 
dirty  and  malodorous,  not  because  he  does  not  bathe, 
but  because  he  has  not  forethought  enough,  or  clothes 
enough,  to  change  his  attire  at  the  same  time  as  steam¬ 
ing  himself.  In  the  cities,  such  as  Moscow  and  St.  Pe¬ 
tersburg,  there  are  enormous  Banias,  in  which  poor  peo¬ 
ple  can  get  a  bath  as  low  as  three  cents,  while  the  wealth¬ 
ier  people  can  pay  as  many  dollars. 

Russian  physicians  do  not  have  an  established  fee  list. 
The  Russian  doctors  will  not  usually  render  a  bill,  and 
it  is  really  not  in  good  form  to  ask  him  the  price  of  his 
services.  Would  you  question  the  man  who  saved  you 
from  drowning  concerning  his  fee?  It  is  repugnant  to 
the  Russian  mind,  so  they  say,  for  one  in  the  holy  calling 
of  a  physician,  whose  duty  it  is  to  alleviate  pain  and  cure 
the  ills  of  the  body,  to  place  his  services  on  a  pecuniary 
basis.  For  all  that,  the  doctor  does  not  expect  to  do  his 


PICTURE  SIGNS  ON  RUSSIAN  STORES 


Some  Customs  and  Characteristics  273 


work  gratuitously,  as  each  one  pays  him  what  he  thinks 
the  services  are  worth.  As  Russians  are  by  nature  gen¬ 
erous,  the  doctor  generally  fares  very  well,  perhaps  better 
than  under  the  ordinary  commercial  system. 

Russia  would  be  an  ideal  country  for  bargain  hunters, 
since  it  is  necessary  to  bargain  for  almost  everything. 
Even  the  most  experienced  bargainer,  if  a  foreigner,  is 
almost  sure  to  come  off  second  best  at  the  game.  The 
merchant  usually  asks  at  least  twice  as  much  as  he  is 
willing  to  take,  and  the  buyer  offers  half  as  much  as  he 
is  willing  to  give.  On  this  basis  the  battle  of  wits  begins, 
each  one  advancing  or  receding  a  few  kopecks  at  a  time, 
until  a  satisfactory  basis  is  arrived  at  to  the  mutual  sat¬ 
isfaction  of  both  parties.  If  one  intends  to  stay  at  a 
hotel  or  boarding  house  for  any  length  of  time,  it  is 
always  advisable  to  bargain,  and  then  he  will  pay  more 
than  a  Russian.  In  the  market,  in  the  bazaars,  with  the 
street  peddlers,  it  is  all  the  same,  haggle  and  bargain, 
bargain  and  haggle. 

A  curious  custom  of  merchants  is  that  of  picture  signs 
representing  the  articles  for  sale  within.  This  is  said 
to  have  arisen  from  the  ignorance  of  the  peasants,  who 
were  not  able  to  read  the  printed  signs.  So  common  is 
this  custom,  that  some  of  the  shopping  streets  in  Rus¬ 
sian  towns  look  like  picture  galleries  of  all  sorts  of  arti¬ 
cles  useful  for  wear  and  practical  use.  Most  of  the  signs 
cannot  lay  claim  to  much  artistic  merit,  but  they  are  use¬ 
ful.  A  peasant,  who  could  not  read  a  shoemaker’s  sign, 
knows  that  a  picture  of  a  pair  of  shoes  means  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  a  shoemaker.  A  haberdasher  will  have  signs 
portraying  hats,  shirts,  ties,  socks,  gloves,  and  other 
articles  in  his  line.  It  may  be  only  a  strange  figure  con¬ 
structed  vaguely  after  the  human  form,  but  composed  of 
collars  and  cuffs  and  shirts.  A  dry-goods  dealer  will 


274  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


have  full-length  portraits  of  women  dressed  in  Paris 
styles,  while  a  tailor  will  have  figures  of  men  fully 
dressed.  An  implement  dealer  pictures  some  of  the  farm¬ 
ing  machinery  carried  in  his  stock.  The  foreign  mer¬ 
chants  have  copied  the  same  methods.  As  a  consequence 
pictured  representations  of  the  American  sewing-ma¬ 
chine  and  steam  plough  have  been  added  to  this  public 
art  gallery.  In  villages,  where  primitive  fire  brigades 
are  organized,  each  peasant  is  assigned  a  certain  duty. 
One  is  to  bring  an  axe,  another  a  bucket,  and  his  neigh¬ 
bour  a  shovel.  A  picture  on  his  cottage  of  the  instru¬ 
ment  he  is  to  bring  will  often  be  seen. 

It  is  astonishing  how  cheap  lace  can  be  bought  in 
Moscow.  There  one  learns  that  lace-making  is  one  of 
the  old  established  industries  of  Russia.  For  centuries 
the  peasants  of  Novgorod,  Tver  and  other  provinces 
have  been  noted  for  their  skill  in  this  work.  Thousands 
of  peasant  women  spend  the  long  winters  in  making  the 
web-like  laces,  which  later  will  decorate  some  lady’s 
garments,  for  there  is  always  a  market  for  it.  Many  of 
the  designs  are  very  original.  The  lace  makers  are  poorly 
paid,  and  can  realize  only  a  few  kopecks  a  day  for  their 
labour,  but  they  know  that  there  is  a  demand  for  all  they 
can  produce.  Little  girls  not  more  than  nine  years  of 
age,  and  even  little  boys,  will  be  found  bending  over  a 
cushion  on  which  they  are  working  lace.  In  every  cen¬ 
tre  there  are  a  number  of  female  lace  agents,  who  buy  the 
work  of  the  village  women  and  sell  it  to  the  merchants 
in  the  cities.  Thousands  of  yards  of  this  peasant  lace 
are  sold  each  year  in  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow;  but 
the  traveller  will  do  far  better  to  purchase  it  in  the  latter 
city,  as  it  is  nearer  the  centre  of  the  industry  and  the 
prices  are  lower. 

The  Russian  peasant  is  not  noted  for  his  truthfulness 


Some  Customs  and  Characteristics  275 


about  affairs  that  concern  his  self-interest.  This  is  espe¬ 
cially  true  when  dealing  with  the  authorities.  It  is  prob¬ 
ably  the  result  of  his  serfdom.  In  court  it  is  quite  com¬ 
mon  for  them  to  perjure  themselves,  and  to  construct  an 
elaborate  story  out  of  whole  cloth,  as  we  say.  When 
this  is  proven  false  he  replaces  it  with  another  tale  equally 
fanciful.  The  fact  that  he  lies  is  not  so  strange,  but  that 
he  retracts  one  statement  so  coolly  and  replaces  it  with 
another.  It  seems  to  be  an  Oriental  trait.  A  friend  of 
mine,  who  lived  in  China  several  years,  has  told  me  of 
this  same  habit  among  the  Chinese.  Their  reason  is  that 
if  you  tell  one  lie  and  are  found  out,  you  can  then  tell 
another.  You  always  have  the  truth  to  fall  back  upon. 
But  if  you  speak  the  truth  at  first,  you  have  told  it  all. 
Furthermore,  you  do  not  know  what  purpose  the  other 
person  has  in  questioning  you,  and  it  may  be  for  your 
injury.  The  Russian  peasant,  like  the  Oriental,  does  not 
expect  you  to  take  his  statements  literally.  It  is  often¬ 
times  a  desire  to  please  that  leads  to  prevarication  —  a 
desire  to  answer  in  the  way  you  would  like  to  have  the 
answer. 

The  custom  of  elaborate  funerals  is  universal  through¬ 
out  Russia.  Many  poor  families  almost  bankrupt  them¬ 
selves  in  paying  this  last  tribute  to  the  dead.  In  no  coun¬ 
try  that  I  have  ever  visited  are  funerals  so  noticeable. 
They  take  up  the  greater  part  of  a  day,  with  a  long  pro¬ 
cession  through  the  streets,  which  makes  them  all  the 
more  conspicuous.  The  first  peculiarity  to  attract  atten¬ 
tion  is  that  all  the  mourners  walk,  although  several  car¬ 
riages  may  follow  with  no  person  in  them.  The  priests 
sometimes  walk  and  occasionally  ride.  The  funeral  cars 
of  the  first  class  are  very  elaborate,  and  are  frequently 
drawn  by  six  white  or  black  horses  with  a  man  leading 
each  horse. 


276  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


At  the  head  of  the  procession  a  number  of  hired  at¬ 
tendants  walk,  the  number  depending  on  the  outlay. 
These  professional  mutes,  with  their  silver-trimmed 
black  coats  and  cocked  hats,  are  supposed  to  add  an 
impressive  air  to  the  occasion.  The  first  one  —  or,  some¬ 
times,  two  —  carries  a  large  cross,  while  the  others  bear 
lighted  candles  or  tapers,  banners,  sacred  icons,  or  the 
insignia  of  rank,  if  the  deceased  belonged  to  that  station 
of  life.  If  the  deceased  had  any  Imperial  decorations, 
they  are  borne  in  imposing  state  on  velvet  cushions. 
Passers-by  on  the  street  reverently  remove  their  hats  as 
the  funeral  train  moves  along.  On  some  occasions  sing¬ 
ers  march  and  sing,  or  chant,  a  very  weird  melody.  The 
funeral  service  in  the  church  is  very  long,  and  there  are 
generally  several  clergy  taking  part  in  it.  In  Ialta  I 
saw  a  curious  proceeding,  which  I  was  told  is  quite  com¬ 
mon.  After  the  exequies  in  the  church  were  over,  the 
body,  in  an  open  coffin,  with  a  crucifix  in  the  hand,  was 
brought  out  to  one  side  of  the  church.  The  family 
grouped  themselves  at  the  back,  and  a  photographer  took 
a  picture  of  the  scene  —  a  rather  uncanny  memento,  it 
seemed  to  me. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE 


Confusion  of  Educational  System  —  Lack  of  Teachers  —  Censorship  of 
Universities  —  Poverty  of  Students  —  Newspapers  —  Novoe  Vremya 
—  Moscow  Gazette  —  Literature  —  Pushkin  —  Turgeniev  —  Dosto- 
yevski  —  Tolstoi. 

Russia  has  a  long  distance  to  travel  yet  in  the  matter 
of  education.  The  fact  that  she  never  went  through  the 
fires  of  the  Reformation  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  rea¬ 
sons.  Norway,  Sweden  and  the  other  countries  of 
Northern  Europe  began  their  educational  advance  with 
this  great  move.  The  Lutheran  Church  in  Norway,  for 
instance,  required  a  certain  standard  of  education  before 
confirmation,  and  confirmation  was  necessary  in  order 
to  take  part  in  the  political  activities  of  the  country.  A 
school  is  now  required  for  every  twenty  pupils  of  school 
age  in  the  land  of  the  old  Vikings.  Russia  is  at  the 
other  extreme  in  educational  advancement. 

It  is  in  both  agriculture  and  education,  the  two  most 
essential  subjects  in  a  country  like  Russia,  that  the  nation 
lags  farthest  behind.  Statistics  on  the  subject  of  edu¬ 
cation  are  very  unreliable.  Because  of  the  confusion  of 
the  system,  really  accurate  enumerations  have  not  yet 
appeared.  Some  of  the  schools,  which  have  been  re¬ 
ported  from  year  to  year,  were  recently  found  to  have 
no  more  than  a  paper  existence.  I  have  seen  it  estimated 
that  from  eighty  to  eighty-five  per  cent,  of  the  people  are 
unable  to  read  and  write.  Whether  that  estimate  is  high 

277 


278  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


or  low,  the  fact  remains  that  by  far  the  greatest  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  population  are  without  that  accomplishment. 
It  is  the  one  thing  of  all,  —  the  most  important  of  all 
in  an  enlightened  government  —  that  is  left  by  the  Im¬ 
perial  government  to  local  initiative.  As  the  whole  sys¬ 
tem  of  education,  like  all  governmental  functions,  is 
under  the  absolute  control  of  the  Czar,  we  are  justified 
in  blaming  the  Autocrat  and  his  advisers  for  the  general 
conditions  of  ignorance  now  existing. 

It  is  doubtful  if  more  than  one  quarter  of  those  of 
school  age  are  enrolled  in  public  schools  of  any  kind. 
In  addition  to  these  there  are  some  who  receive  instruc¬ 
tion  in  private  schools,  or  from  tutors.  The  distance 
that  many  have  to  travel  makes  it  a  physical  impossi¬ 
bility  for  them  to  attend  an  educational  institution,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  to  be  overcome. 
Most  of  the  schools  are  only  open  in  the  winter,  when 
the  weather  is  severe.  In  some  instances,  in  towns  where 
schools  are  located,  provision  is  made  for  children  of 
peasants  to  be  boarded  at  a  very  low  rate,  most  of  them 
bringing  their  own  rye  bread  and  sour  cabbage.  In  many 
of  the  church  schools  instruction  is  practically  confined 
to  the  learning  of  the  Russian  and  old  Slavonic  alphabets, 
the  church  catechism,  and  the  rudiments  of  arithmetic. 

It  is  a  curious  feature  of  Russia’s  bureaucratic  gov¬ 
ernment  that  there  is  no  centralized  authority  having 
control  of  all  the  educational  machinery  of  the  Empire. 
Several  departments  of  the  government,  for  instance, 
have  entire  groups  of  schools  under  their  control.  The 
Departments  of  War,  Marine,  Finance,  and  Agriculture 
each  have  control  of  certain  schools,  as  well  as  the  Di¬ 
rector  of  the  charities  known  as  the  “  Institutions  of  the 
Empress  Maria.”  The  Minister  of  Ways  of  Communi¬ 
cation  also  has  certain  technical  schools  under  the  super- 


RUSSIAN  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 


Education  and  Literature 


279 


vision  of  his  office.  The  Holy  Synod  and  the  Zemstva 
likewise  play  an  important  part  in  the  field  of  education, 
and  have  almost  exclusive  supervision,  together  with  the 
Town  Councils,  over  primary  education.  Of  these  two 
groups  of  schools,  those  of  the  Zemstva  are  generally 
the  best  and  most  practical. 

There  is  a  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  who  has  a 
sort  of  general  control  over  education.  This  position, 
however,  has  often  been  filled  by  a  military  officer,  who 
knew  little  about  the  subject.  For  this  reason  many 
Russians  have  styled  this  official  the  “  Minister  for  the 
Prevention  of  Public  Instruction.”  This  department  of 
education  is  assisted  by  a  Scientific  Council,  as  a  sort 
of  advisory  body.  This  body  includes  ex-professors  and 
ex-lecturers  and  a  small  body  of  men  selected  for  their 
learning.  The  yearly  allowance  made  to  this  official  in 
such  a  vast  empire  is  scarcely  more  than  that  of  some 
of  our  leading  states.  It  is  only  a  small  fraction  of  the 
total  government  budget,  and  about  one-sixth  of  the 
sum  allotted  to  the  War  and  Navy  Departments.  It  is 
doubtful  if  as  much  is  spent  on  elementary  schools  by 
the  Russian  government  as  is  devoted  to  that  purpose 
by  Greater  New  York  alone.  The  church  schools  are 
generally  supported  by  their  respective  parishes,  but  re¬ 
ceive  some  help  from  the  Holy  Synod.  The  Zemstva 
schools  are  maintained  entirely  by  that  body.  The  min¬ 
istry  occasionally  grants  a  subsidy  to  the  schools  sup¬ 
ported  by  the  Town  Councils. 

The  Russian  officials  generally  give  as  an  excuse  for 
not  establishing  more  schools  the  lack  of  qualified  teach¬ 
ers.  The  real  fact  is  that  the  wages  paid  are  so  very 
small  that  teaching  does  not  attract  thousands  who  are 
well  qualified  for  that  work,  and  would  gladly  enter  it 
were  sufficient  inducement  offered.  The  salaries  of  or- 


280  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


dinary  teachers  range  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  dollars  a 
year.  The  highest  is  only  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  a  year.  The  establishment  of  new  schools  is 
usually  left  to  private  initiative.  A  plan  will  be  sub¬ 
mitted  by  the  local  body  to  the  Minister  of  Public  In¬ 
struction,  which  he  may  confirm  or  modify.  If  approved, 
a  private  committee  will  collect  money  for  a  building  to 
be  erected.  The  Minister  then  officially  establishes  the 
school,  and  makes  a  certain  allowance  for  its  support. 

The  Russian  Empire  is  divided  into  fourteen  Arron- 
dissements,  or  Educational  Circuits.  Under  this  divi¬ 
sion,  each  Circuit  includes  a  number  of  provinces.  Each 
of  these  Circuits  is  likewise  placed  under  a  Curator,  who 
acts  as  an  under  officer  of  the  Minister.  He  appoints  the 
teachers  of  the  secondary  schools  in  his  district.  It 
would  be  a  physical  impossibility  to  visit  all  of  the 
schools  under  a  Curator’s  supervision,  so  this  duty  is 
detailed  to  a  couple  of  travelling  inspectors.  Then  there 
are  real  schools  and  gymnasiums.  These  schools  corre¬ 
spond  quite  closely  with  the  grammar  schools  of  the 
United  States.  The  examinations  in  passing  from  one 
grade  to  another  are  usually  very  severe,  and  many  fall 
by  the  wayside.  If  a  student  fails  for  two  years  in  suc¬ 
cession,  he  must  go,  for  there  are  generally  more  appli¬ 
cants  who  wish  to  enter  the  higher  institutions  than  there 
are  places  to  supply.  Religious  instruction  permeates 
every  branch  of  study,  and  every  hour  of  the  day,  just 
as  religion  saturates  all  Russian  life.  The  text  books 
often  have  a  religious  emblem  on  the  cover,  and  illus¬ 
trations  from  scenes  in  the  Bible  or  lives  of  the  saints 
are  more  numerous  than  secular  subjects. 

There  are  many  schools  for  higher  education  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  such  as  special  high  schools,  military  academies,  the¬ 
ological  institutions,  etc.  But  the  number  is  small  when 


Education  and  Literature 


281 


compared  with  the  immensity  of  the  country.  Technical 
institutions  have  received  much  more  encouragement  in 
recent  years  than  those  whose  teaching  is  confined  to 
the  arts  courses.  There  are  nine  universities  in  all,  lo¬ 
cated  respectively  at  Moscow,  St.  Petersburg,  Kiev, 
Kharkov,  Dorpat,  Warsaw,  Kazan,  Odessa,  and  Tomsk. 
The  universities  have  caused  the  government  no  little 
concern.  Up  to  1905  the  heads  of  these  institutions  were 
appointed  directly  by  the  Czar,  but  now  they  choose  their 
own.  The  general  control  is  exercised  by  a  University 
Council;  but  to  each  university  is  allotted  an  inspector, 
who  is  in  reality  an  agent  of  the  police  department  of  the 
government.  On  his  report  students  can  be  expelled, 
and  even  deprived  of  their  civil  rights.  The  repression 
has  been  so  vigorous  at  times  that  many  of  the  best  pro¬ 
fessors  have  been  compelled  to  protest.  The  high-handed 
action  of  these  inspectors  undoubtedly  made  many  ene¬ 
mies  for  the  government.  Spies  frequently  sit  with  the 
professors  and  students  in  their  class-rooms.  The  fear 
of  everything  Western  has  resulted  in  surrounding  the 
universities  with  a  sort  of  palisade  to  prevent  new  ideas 
from  filtering  in. 

Because  the  government  is  afraid  of  the  teaching  of 
real  scientific  political  economy,  a  practical  political  edu¬ 
cation  is  denied  the  students;  hence  they  get  it  surrep¬ 
titiously  from  demagogues  and  political  fanatics,  a  much 
worse  source.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  gov¬ 
ernment  has  reaped  the  evils  of  such  a  policy.  When  a 
Russian  is  once  imbued  with  the  idea  that  he  must  right 
wrongs  by  violence,  he  has  enough  of  the  Oriental  sto¬ 
icism  in  his  nature  to  be  reckless  of  his  own  safety  and 
have  no  fear  of  death.  It  is,  perhaps,  but  natural  that 
students,  as  they  begin  to  realize  the  backwardness  of 
their  own  country  and  its  repressive  government,  should 


282  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


turn  to  what  they  think  are  the  latest  and  most  advanced 
ideas. 

The  student  in  Russia  learns  from  childhood  up  that  he 
is  under  police  supervision,  because  he  is  a  scholar.  Or¬ 
ders  have  at  times  been  issued  that  not  more  than  two 
or  three  boys  were  allowed  to  walk  along  together  on 
the  street.  No  clubs  are  allowed,  for  fear  that  they 
might  become  political  centres.  But  there  are  certain 
diversions,  such  as  gymnastic  equipment,  orchestras,  etc., 
supplied  to  utilize  the  unemployed  energy  of  the  students. 
Corporal  punishment,  which  formerly  prevailed,  has  been 
abolished,  and  the  usual  method  to  punish  a  refractory 
pupil  is  to  stop  the  holiday  outings,  or  to  keep  him  shut 
up  for  a  certain  number  of  years  for  drunkenness  or 
gross  immorality.  Boys  from  the  schools  can  always 
be  recognized  on  the  streets,  for  they  wear  a  semi-mili¬ 
tary  uniform.  Their  behaviour  is  likewise  strictly  regu¬ 
lated.  Some  of  the  higher  institutions  have  a  gorgeous 
uniform,  which  is  almost  as  impressive  as  that  of  the 
average  major  general.  Girls  of  various  grades  can  also 
be  recognized  by  the  colour  of  their  dresses,  and  all  wear 
a  neat  little  black  apron.  There  has  been  considerable 
improvement  in  the  education  of  girls  in  the  last  few 
years.  In  schools  for  girls  the  course  of  instruction  is 
usually  the  same  as  for  boys.  Many  are  now  entering 
the  professions,  especially  that  of  medicine,  and  are  suc¬ 
cessful. 

The  outlook  for  a  scholar  in  Russia  is  not  very  prom¬ 
ising.  Many  of  the  students  live  in  the  most  abject  pov¬ 
erty.  It  is  estimated  that  two-thirds  of  the  students  in 
the  universities  are  more  or  less  dependent  upon  govern¬ 
ment  or  private  subsidy.  But  the  amount  given  each 
individual  is  pitifully  small,  scarcely  supplying  the  barest 
necessities  of  life.  They  are  crowded  together  in  the 


Education  and  Literature 


283 


very  cheapest  lodgings  that  can  be  found  —  oftentimes 
those  which  cannot  have  otherwise  than  a  bad  influence 
upon  the  young  man  or  woman.  No  moral  training  is 
given,  but  they  are  hampered  in  every  way  in  the  name 
of  morality  by  the  government.  This  lack  of  moral  con¬ 
trol  is  a  serious  matter.  It  is  little  wonder  that  students, 
who  have  lived  in  such  destitution,  should  give  their  im¬ 
aginations  full  play  in  building  up  a  world  in  which  cold 
and  suffering  should  be  abolished.  There  is  the  natural 
communistic  idea,  also,  especially  among  the  peasantry, 
which  easily  turns  them  toward  the  more  radical  ideas 
of  extreme  socialism. 

Many  students  in  the  universities  are  the  sons  of  poor 
parish  priests,  or  of  peasants  who  have  sacrificed  almost 
everything  to  give  a  boy  or  girl  a  chance  in  life-.  Many 
a  ruined  landowner,  or  impoverished  noble,  has  sacrificed 
everything  to  educate  his  children  in  order  to  retrieve 
the  family  name  and  again  establish  it  among  the  re¬ 
spectable  class.'  When  a  young  man  leaves  school  he 
can  scarcely  hope  for  any  remunerative  employment,  ex¬ 
cept  a  government  post.  Furthermore,  the  college  grad¬ 
uate  is  looked  upon  with  more  or  less  suspicion  by  em¬ 
ployers,  because  of  the  fear  that  he  may  be  imbued  with 
radical  ideas,  and  may  thus  sooner  or  later  get  into 
trouble  with  the  government.  So  it  is  that,  for  many 
who  have  sacrificed  so  much,  only  a  bitter  disappoint¬ 
ment  awaits  them.  They  have  thus  almost  been  forced 
into  the  revolutionary  and  even  criminal  class.  Some 
efforts  have  been  made  to  improve  these  conditions,  but 
not  much  has  been  accomplished  as  yet. 

The  first  newspaper  in  Russia  was  established  by  Peter 
the  Great.  It  was  called  the  St.  Petersburg  Gazette. 
Peter  found  one  printing  press  in  Moscow  on  his  acces¬ 
sion,  but  he  placed  another  there  and  four  in  St.  Peters- 


284  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


burg.  From  that  time  newspapers  have  flourished  in 
Russia,  but  always  under  more  or  less  official  scrutiny. 
Such  an  institution  as  an  absolutely  free  press  has  never 
been  known  under  the  autocracy,  although  under  Alex¬ 
ander  I  comparative  freedom  prevailed  for  several  years. 
The  main  enemy  to  be  looked  after,  of  course,  was  rev¬ 
olution,  but  tendencies  contrary  to  Orthodoxy  were  also 
censored.  In  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
out  of  more  than  six  hundred  books  examined,  less  than 
one  hundred  passed  the  censors. 

Newspapers  rose  and  fell  under  the  various  rulers. 
Journalistic  failures  were  probably  due  as  much  to  the 
indifference  of  the  public  as  the  persecutions  of  the  cen¬ 
sor.  Writers  were  ordered  to  narrate  events  simply, 
with  little  or  no  comment;  to  make  only  the  slightest 
allusion  to  the  representative  assemblies  of  other  na¬ 
tions;  to  refrain  from  speaking  of  the  demands  and 
needs  of  the  working  classes ;  to  abstain  from  commend¬ 
ing  inventions  until  they  had  been  officially  investigated. 
Many  of  the  workings  of  the  censorship  are  absolutely 
ludicrous,  and  they  are  a  mass  of  inconsistencies.  Not 
all  of  the  censors  were  tyrants,  however,  for  some  were 
extremely  liberal  in  their  interpretations.  As  the  circu¬ 
lation  of  newspapers  increased  the  strength  of  a  vigorous 
journal  was  enhanced,  and  the  repressions  were  very 
severe  even  down  to  the  Russo-Japanese  War. 

There  are  many  newspapers  published  in  Russia,  and 
especially  in  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg.  In  comparison 
with  American  newspapers  they  are  certainly  inferior. 
They  are  all  in  entire  contrast  with  the  freedom  of  speech 
and  opinion  that  one  will  find  in  England,  France  or 
the  United  States.  To  us  they  seem  entirely  of  the  milk 
and  water  sort.  One  writer  humorously  described  the 
fraternity,  some  years  ago,  as  the  League  of  Froth- 


Education  and  Literature 


285 


Skimmers.  “  Membership,”  said  he,  “  is  open  to  any 
one  who  can  in  a  harmless  way  expound  the  confused 
sensations  which  he  from  time  to  time  experiences. 
Neither  knowledge  nor  ideas  are  demanded  of  him.” 
But  the  fact  remains  that  Russia  is  not  without  her  daily 
newspapers,  which  will  be  found  for  sale  at  newstands 
and  by  newsboys  much  as  they  are  at  home.  A  great 
deal  of  the  space,  which  in  more  liberal  countries  would 
be  filled  with  political  comment,  is  given  up  to  fiction  or 
other  literary  features.  In  St.  Petersburg  there  are  more 
than  three  hundred  periodicals,  and  Moscow  is  not  far 
behind  in  numbers.  Some  of  those  devoted  to  scientific 
subjects  are  very  creditable.  Foreign  newspapers  come 
in  freely,  but  an  unallowable  article  is  still  censored.  The 
objectionable  article  is  blackened  so  perfectly  that  not 
a  word  or  a  letter  can  be  made  out.  It  is  as  if  a  roller 
of  printer’s  ink  had  been  run  over  it. 

The  best  known  newspaper  in  Russia  is  the  Novoe 
Vremya  (New  Times),  published  in  St.  Petersburg.  Its 
office  on  the  Nevski  is  at  all  times  surrounded  by  a  crowd 
when  there  is  any  news  of  special  interest.  It  has  always 
been  more  or  less  of  a  government  organ.  For  that  rea¬ 
son  it  could  not  be  classified  as  a  popular  newspaper. 
It  has  always  stood  as  a  barrier  to  the  reforms  demanded 
by  the  dissatisfied  element.  It  has  always  taken  law  and 
order  as  its  motto,  and  a  disregard  for  the  natural  human 
yearning  for  more  liberty.  It  invariably  maintains  a 
dignity  of  tone,  however,  and  has  made  a  specialty  of 
foreign  news.  But  even  such  a  conservative  publication 
was  moved  to  indignation  by  the  scandals  of  the  Japa¬ 
nese  war  and,  on  a  very  few  such  occasions,  has  spoken 
out  against  the  autocratic  government  with  force  and 
vigour. 

The  editor  of  Novoe  Vremya  since  1879,  until  his 


286  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


death  in  September,  1912,  was  Alexsei  S.  Suvorin. 
During  that  period  probably  no  man  had  a  greater  in¬ 
fluence  on  the  political  life  of  Russia  than  the  late  editor. 
His  pen  was  vigorous,  so  that  friends  and  foes  alike  read 
his  writings  with  interest.  His  literary  talent  was  high, 
and  he  wrote  both  poetry  and  fiction  that  will  live.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  no  man  was  more  loved  or  more 
hated.  An  extreme  liberal  in  his  earlier  years,  the  rad¬ 
ical  element  considered  him  a  traitor  to  their  cause.  But 
liberalism  did  not  “  pay,”  as  he  learned  in  his  earlier 
struggles,  and  Suvorin  wanted  money.  This  greatest  of 
all  modern  Russian  editors  was  of  peasant  descent,  and 
was  born  in  1834.  Thus  his  career  had  taken  him 
through  the  most  vital  period  of  modern  Russia.  He 
had  accumulated  a  large  fortune  with  his  newspaper, 
and  the  book  publishing  business  in  conjunction  with  it. 

In  Moscow  the  leading  newspaper  is  the  Moscow 
Gazette.  This  is  an  old  newspaper,  whose  reputation 
was  made  by  Katkov,  an  able  journalist,  half  a  century 
ago.  In  style  and  make-up  it  is  the  peer  of  all,  for  the 
Gazette  is  always  printed  on  the  best  paper  and  with  the 
best  type.  It  aims  to  be  a  government  organ,  but  its 
real  function  is  often  enigmatical.  It  has  been  one  of 
the  leaders  of  anti-Semitism,  and  has  shown  little  scruple 
in  its  attacks  upon  the  Jews.  It  has  a  large  circulation, 
however,  and  undoubtedly  wields  a  great  influence.  An 
extended  enumeration  of  Russian  newspapers  would  be 
inadvisable,  for  by  the  time  a  book  appears  some  may 
have  died  either  a  natural  or  an  untimely  death. 

Not  all  books  are  permitted  to  be  sold  in  Russian  book¬ 
stores.  Especially  is  this  true  of  books  in  other  lan¬ 
guages  that  are  critical  of  Russia  or  Russian  institutions. 
When  in  Warsaw  a  gentleman  loaned  me  a  copy  of  a 
work  on  Poland  by  an  American  author.  I  started  out 


Education  and  Literature 


287 


with  it  in  my  hand,  but  he  said  it  would  not  be  wise  to 
do  that,  so  I  carried  it  under  my  coat.  Most  of  Tolstoi’s 
novels  can  be  purchased,  so  I  was  informed,  but  his 
religious  and  sociological  essays  are  interdicted.  Many 
of  these  are  very  virulent  diatribes  upon  the  government 
and  Orthodox  Church,  and  even  upon  all  government. 
No  one  ever  attacked  any  church  organization  more  viru¬ 
lently  than  did  Tolstoi,  and  one  can  readily  understand 
the  Russian  point  of  view  in  suppressing  these  writings. 
No  doubt  reading  is  increasing  in  Russia  just  as  fast  as 
education  progresses.  There  are  many  low-priced  and 
low-grade  publications  for  sale  there,  as  in  other  coun¬ 
tries,  which  the  Czar  might  properly  interdict. 

Russian  literature  is  more  extensive  than  is  generally 
believed,  for  comparatively  little  of  it  has  been  trans¬ 
lated  into  English.  The  Russian  mind  furnishes  excel¬ 
lent  material  for  the  building  up  of  a  genuine  literature. 
It  has  far  greater  quickness  and  fancy  than  the  German 
mind,  qualities  not  in  harmony  with  the  novel  conditions 
of  Russian  history.  It  is  the  literature  of  a  people  strain¬ 
ing  after  impossible  ideals,  seemingly  revelling  in  the 
pure  delight  of  wandering,  and  constantly  confronted 
with  imminent  dangers.  It  may  be  that  this  severe  dis¬ 
cipline  has  given  to  it  its  peculiar  characteristics. 

The  earlier  literature  that  has  been  handed  down  to 
us  savours  of  the  Church  and  State.  And  yet  the  people 
are  fond  of  legends,  which  are  common  everywhere 
among  the  peasants.  They  are  full  of  fancy,  and  most 
of  them  have  a  deep  moral  significance  as  well.  Most 
of  these  grew  up  in  the  period  preceding  the  establish¬ 
ment  of  the  autocracy.  The  old  easy  life  of  the  prin¬ 
cipalities  was  especially  favourable  for  the  growth  of 
fanciful  tales. 

Following  this  popular  period  comes  the  glorification 


288  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  princes  and  rulers.  Then  follows  a  literature  bor¬ 
rowed  from  abroad.  Peter  the  Great  encouraged  the 
translation  of  French  works,  and  more  literature  has  been 
turned  into  Russian  from  that  tongue  than  any  other. 
French  literature  continues  to  be  the  most  popular  in 
Russia,  excepting  only  that  of  native  writers,  although 
the  works  of  Shakespeare  and  some  other  of  the  great 
English  writers  are  very  popular  there.  The  lives  of 
Russian  writers,  like  those  of  her  rulers,  have  been  un¬ 
happy  in  general.  Nearly  all  of  them  have  a  deep  in¬ 
stinct  of  religion,  for  that  seems  to  be  implanted  in  the 
Slav  nature.  Many  of  them  are  intensely  patriotic,  al¬ 
though  harshly  criticizing  political  conditions  as  they 
exist.  Most  of  them  at  some  time  or  another  held  polit¬ 
ical  positions.  A  few  were  born  to  luxury,  but  a  greater 
number  lived  in  the  greatest  straits.  A  number  of  them 
were  persecuted  by  the  government  and  sent  into  exile. 

Russian  fabulists  may  be  numbered  by  the  score,  and 
one  of  them  deserves  mention.  This  is  Krylov  (1768- 
1844).  Many  of  his  short  sentences  have  become  prov¬ 
erbs  among  the  Russians,  like  the  couplets  of  Lafontaine. 
Flis  early  life  was  passed  in  the  severest  straits,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  he  secured  any  education  what¬ 
ever.  Krylov  tried  various  kinds  of  writing  with  indif¬ 
ferent  success,  until  he  essayed  to  write  fables.  Flis  pic¬ 
tures  of  life  are  thoroughly  national,  and  he  strikes  at 
many  of  the  foibles  of  his  time  with  his  fables.  Flis 
writings  are  undoubtedly  among  the  most  popular  of  all 
Russian  authors,  for  even  the  unlearned  peasants  have 
committed  many  of  his  fables  and  proverbs  to  memory. 

The  name  which  stands  out  most  prominently  of  all 
is  that  of  Alexander  Pushkin,  born  in  1799.  Pushkin 
came  from  an  ancient  family  of  the  Boyars,  but  had 
some  negro  blood  in  his  veins.  Flis  education  was  rather 


Education  and  Literature 


289 


desultory,  although  he  had  good  opportunities.  Some 
daring  verses  resulted  in  banishment  to  the  Caucasus, 
where  a  roving  life  of  several  years  developed  the  man, 
and  gave  to  his  imagination  full  sway.  He  lived  alone 
among  the  peasants,  learning  from  peasants’  lips  their 
legends  and  songs.  Later  he  returned  to  St.  Petersburg, 
where  he  enjoyed  special  favour  at  court,  but  his  caustic 
criticisms  always  made  him  many  enemies.  By  nature 
Pushkin  seemed  unhappy  and  discontented.  He  quar¬ 
relled  with  his  relatives  and  squandered  his  inheritance. 
As  a  result,  his  nature  became  touchy  and  pessimistic, 
and  an  unhappy  marriage  did  not  help  matters  in  the 
least. 

Pushkin  stands  out  prominently  as  a  poet,  dramatist 
and  novelist.  His  place  among  the  poets  of  the  world 
has  never  been  fully  defined.  It  is  sometimes  overrated, 
and  just  as  frequently  underrated.  One  reason  of  this 
anomaly  is  that  few  literary  critics  are  versed  in  Russian, 
and  the  poetry  of  Pushkin  does  not  lend  itself  readily 
to  translation,  and  especially  into  English.  At  any  rate, 
he  is  the  poet  to  the  Russian,  and  has  given  Russia  a 
right  to  claim  a  truly  great  bard.  If  he  cannot  be  classed 
with  Homer,  or  Dante,  or  Shakespeare,  or  even  Goethe, 
he  can  at  least  claim  a  rank  by  the  side  of  the  next  class 
of  world’s  poets.  He  understood  Russia  and  the  Rus¬ 
sians,  and  was  almost  universally  recognized  among  his 
countrymen  even  before  his  untimely  end. 

Some  say  that  Pushkin  out-Byrons  Byron  himself  in 
the  extraordinary  vigour  and  vitality  of  his  imagination. 
Baring  places  him  ahead  of  Musset,  Leopardi,  Victor 
Hugo,  Lamartin,  and  Keats,  but  beneath  Milton  and 
Goethe  at  their  best.  There  are  no  surplus  words  in 
his  writings,  and  there  is  a  simplicity  and  naturalness 
in  his  expressions.  He  paints  the  picture,  and  then  leaves 


290  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


the  imagination  of  the  reader  to  fill  in  the  details.  In 
fifteen  verses  of  eight  lines  each  he  gives  the  whole  of 
Napoleon’s  career  —  something  that  no  other  writer  has 
ever  been  able  to  do.  The  tragedy  of  “  Boris  Godunov  ” 
impresses  one  with  its  solemn  and  simple  stateliness. 
The  atmosphere  of  the  unknown  invests  it  from  start  to 
finish.  Pushkin  also  did  much  lighter  work  in  the  way 
of  epigrams  and  trite  verses.  It  is  surprising  the  amount 
of  work  he  accomplished  in  a  lifetime  of  thirty-eight 
years.  His  end  was  a  tragedy,  for  he  died  as  the  result 
of  a  duel  with  a  man  whom  he  thought  was  a  rival  for 
his  wife’s  affections. 

The  leading  prose  writers  of  the  past  century  have 
been  Ivan  Turgeniev  (1818-1883),  Theodore  Dostoyev- 
ski  (1821-1881),  and  Leo  Tolstoi  (1828-1910).  Tur¬ 
geniev  and  Tolstoi  both  belonged  to  the  aristocracy,  the 
landed  class,  and  both  obtained  recognition  abroad  al¬ 
most  immediately.  Each  deeply  sympathized  with  the 
peasants,  and  did  what  he  could  to  lighten  their  burdens. 
Turgeniev  spent  most  of  his  life  out  of  Russia,  but  al 
ways  remained  a  Russian  and  constantly  kept  in  touch 
with  the  country  of  his  nativity.  His  funeral  at  St. 
Petersburg  was  marked  by  the  greatest  demonstration  of 
affection,  and  he  holds  a  high  place  in  the  regard  of  his 
countrymen.  He  was  probably  the  greatest  master  of 
prose  that  Russia  has  ever  produced.  He  had  a  pleasing 
personality,  which  permeates  all  his  writings.  Every¬ 
body  in  Russia  reads  Turgeniev,  for  it  is  a  part  of  their 
intellectual  food ;  and  every  Russian  loves  him.  His 
three  great  novels  are  “  Fathers  and  Sons,  Virgin 
Soil,”  and  “  A  Nest  of  Gentlefolks.”  They  give  us  a 
vivid  picture  of  Russian  life  of  the  sixties.  Sports¬ 
man’s  Sketches”  paint  for  us  the  life  of  the  peasants 
in  the  period  before  the  emancipation.  His  types  of 


Education  and  Literature  291 


women  are  decidedly  Russian,  and  are  literary  as  well 
as  artistic  triumphs. 

Dostoyevski  was  not  so  much  a  master  of  style  as 
Turgeniev,  but  he  understood  the  people  and  wrote  of 
them  with  keen  insight.  Few  writers  have  had  the  same 
insight  into  the  very  souls  of  their  fellow-countrymen. 
The  life  in  his  books  teems  with  the  hopes  and  aspirations 
of  the  great  oppressed  mass  of  the  Russians.  He  has 
been  called  the  “poet  of  the  poor.”  At  first  a  revolu¬ 
tionist,  he  was  exiled  to  Siberia.  He  faced  this  punish¬ 
ment  courageously,  and  made  good  use  of  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  it  afforded  to  make  a  first-hand  study  of  the  ex¬ 
iled  unfortunates.  He  not  only  studied,  but  learned  and 
understood  their  life,  religion  and  ideals.  The  results 
of  this  exile,  during  which  his  health  was  broken,  are 
set  forth  in  “  Notes  out  of  a  Dead  House.”  But  he 
came  back  an  enemy  of  all  armed  revolution.  In  Siberia 
he  learned  that  the  Nihilists  did  not  understand  the  peo¬ 
ple,  and  were  using  the  wrong  methods  to  accomplish 
their  ends.  Still  opposed  to  the  reactionary  methods  of 
the  government,  he  was  equally  opposed  to  the  creeds 
and  methods  of  Nihilism.  His  greatest  books  are 
“  Crime  and  Punishment,”  and  “  The  Brothers  Karama¬ 
zov.”  When  he  died,  being  literally  worn  out,  the  peo¬ 
ple  felt  that  they  had  lost  a  friend,  and  his  funeral  was 
the  occasion  of  a  great  outpouring  of  people  linked  to¬ 
gether  by  a  common  sorrow,  His  remains  were  depos¬ 
ited  in  the  monastery  of  Alexander  Nevski. 

Tolstoi  has  given  to  us  human  beings  who  really  be¬ 
long  to  life.  One  who  has  travelled  through  and  studied 
Russia  will  find  many  scenes  and  characters  in  that  nov¬ 
elist’s  writings  that  fit  in  with  his  own  experiences.  His 
works  are  accessible  to  all,  for  most  of  them  are  avail¬ 
able  in  good  English  translations.  They  lose  less  in  the 


292  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


process  of  translation,  also,  than  those  of  most  Russian 
writers.  Tolstoi  is  the  one  Russian  who  stands  out  as 
a  heroic  figure,  who  always  dared  to  say  what  he  thought, 
no  matter  how  revolutionary  his  opinions  might  be.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  he  was  excommunicated  from  the 
Church,  and  the  greater  wonder  is  that  he  was  not  ex¬ 
pelled  from  the  country.  He  always  remained  a  preacher, 
this  element  running  throughout  all  his  writings.  It  is 
even  more  pronounced  in  his  later  works.  “  War  and 
Peace,”  “  Anna  Karenina,”  and  the  “  Death  of  Ivan 
Ilych  ”  won  him  a  place  among  the  leading  Russian 
writers.  “  The  Kreutzer  Sonata  ”  and  “  Resurrection  ” 
stand  out  among  his  later  works.  In  each  is  painted 
some  of  the  strong  and  oftentimes  strange  character¬ 
istics  of  the  Russian  nature.  He  seems  never  to  be  able 
to  separate  the  attitude  of  preacher  and  artist,  and  it  is 
upon  this  combination  that  his  critics  have  seized.  No 
one  can  deny  that  Tolstoi  showed  great  inconsistencies 
between  his  life  and  teaching,  but  that  does  not  prevent 
us  from  recognizing  him  as  a  writer  of  genius  and  an 
extraordinary  man  who  accomplished  great  good. 


LEO  TOLSTOI 


CHAPTER  XVII 


RELIGIOUS  FORCES 

Reverence  of  Russians- — Orthodox  Church — Holy  Synod  —  Procurator 
Icons  — •  Shrines  —  Pilgrimages  —  Ceremonies  —  “  Blessing  the 
Waters  ”  —  White  Clergy  —  The  Pop  —  Black  Clergy  —  Troitsa 
Monastery  —  Reforms  of  Nikon  —  Strange  Beliefs  —  Non-Orthodox 
Churches. 

The  traditions  of  Russia  may  be  summed  up  in  the 
three  words  “  Czar,  Church  and  People.”  It  is  quite 
certain  that  the  people  come  last,  and  it  is  equally  true 
that  the  Church  is  second  in  importance  and  power  only 
to  the  government.  While  the  Russian  court  has  been 
profoundly  affected  by  foreign  influences,  the  Church  is 
the  one  great  institution  that  has  remained  essentially 
national.  There  is  probably  no  country  in  the  world 
where  an  established  religious  organization  with  its 
priests  exercises  so  great  an  influence,  or  bears  such  an 
important  part  in  the  life  of  the  people,  as  the  Greek 
Church,  called  by  the  Russians  Orthodox,  does  in  the 
Russian  Empire.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  certainly 
does  not  equal  it  in  any  country  at  this  period  of  history. 
A  better  comparison  would  be  with  the  influence  of  that 
church  in  the  countries  where  it  was  strongest  a  century 
or  more  ago.  For  that  reason,  it  is  a  subject  that  claims 
serious  study,  and  a  single  chapter  must  necessarily  treat 
of  it  in  a  somewhat  tabloid  manner. 

There  are  probably  no  people  in  the  world  who  are 
so  deeply  and  reverently  religious,  so  far  as  the  outward 

293 


294  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


manifestations  can  be  judged.  It  is  a  state  where  nothing 
can  be  understood  without  a  more  or  less  comprehensive 
outline  of  the  part  religion  plays  in  the  life  of  the  people 
and  affairs  of  the  government.  “  Granting  all  their  su¬ 
perstition,  conceding  their  ignorance,  giving  full  credit 
to  every  unfortunate  phase  which  the  Christian  religion 
takes  among  this  peculiar  people,”  says  Mr.  Beveridge 
in  “  The  Russian  Advance,”  “  he  who  travels  the  Empire 
from  end  to  end,  with  eyes  to  see  and  ears  to  hear,  can¬ 
not  but  admit  that  here  is  a  power  in  human  affairs, 
blind  it  may  be,  cruel  ofttimes,  no  doubt,  but  still  reverent, 
devotional,  and  fairly  saturated  with  a  faith  so  deep  that 
it  is  instinctive,  and  the  like  of  which  may  not  be  wit¬ 
nessed  in  all  the  earth.  What  exists  is  certain ;  that  it 
moves  forward,  slowly  perhaps,  to  the  eye  of  the  hour, 
but  rapidly  to  the  eye  of  history,  and,  in  any  case,  irre¬ 
sistibly,  is  merely  a  fact.” 

The  vast  majority  of  the  Russians  are  undoubtedly 
Orthodox,  at  least  by  classification  if  not  in  practice.  By 
law  all  persons  whose  parents  were  members  of  the  Or¬ 
thodox  Church,  or  whose  parents  promised  to  bring  up 
their  children  in  that  communion,  are  themselves  classed 
as  communicants.  There  are  millions  of  adherents  of 
other  denominations,  Lutheran,  Roman  Catholic  and 
Mohammedan,  who  acknowledge  the  sway  of  the  Czar, 
but  they  are  the  subject  people  and  not  the  ruling  race. 
Then  there  are  the  dissentients  from  the  Russian  Church 
itself. 

The  Russian  National  Church  is  only  one  branch  of 
the  Greek  Church.  In  matters  of  faith  it  submits  to  the 
councils  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Orthodox  Churches, 
but  in  government  it  is  supreme  in  itself.  Until  the  thir¬ 
teenth  century,  more  than  two  centuries  after  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  Christianity  into  Russia,  all  the  priests  were 


Religious  Forces 


295 


Greeks.  The  Episcopal  see  was  first  at  Kiev,  and  later 
at  Moscow.  Then  the  separation  came,  and  the  rule 
of  Russian  Patriarchs  followed. 

The  Russians  have  always  boasted  about  the  advan¬ 
tage  of  their  independence  from  Rome.  To  an  outsider 
the  benefit  is  difficult  to  see.  Although  freed  from  some 
of  the  political  complications  brought  on  by  the  ambi¬ 
tions  of  the  Popes,  Russia  lost  the  educational  advan¬ 
tages  of  Rome.  It  is  not  so  advanced  as  the  countries 
in  which  Roman  Catholicism  is  dominant.  The  Russian 
Church  has  remained  unmoved.  It  does  not  bother  much 
about  the  opinions  of  its  members  as  a  rule,  so  that  trials 
for  heresy  are  rare.  The  excommunication  of  Count 
Tolstoi  was  political  rather  than  religious,  brought  about 
by  political  pressure.  All  that  is  demanded,  as  a  rule, 
is  that  those  who  have  been  born  within  the  Church 
should  show  a  certain  nominal  allegiance,  and  in  this 
requirement  they  are  not  very  exacting.  So  long  as  the 
member  refrains  from  openly  attacking  the  Church,  he 
may  neglect  almost  all  religious  ordinances,  and  believe 
almost  anything,  without  running  the  risk  of  ecclesias¬ 
tical  censure. 

In  the  same  building  where  sits  the  Imperial  Senate, 
is  the  chamber  of  the  Holy  Synod,  the  directing  body  of 
the  Russian  Church.  The  Synod  is  made  up  of  the  three 
Metropolitans,  a  number  of  bishops  and  archbishops,  and 
some  members  of  the  inferior  clergy.  It  is  not  a  council 
of  deputies  from  various  sections,  but  is  a  permanent 
body,  the  members  of  which  are  appointed  or  dismissed 
by  the  Czar  as  he  wills.  Its  actions  do  not  become  lav/ 
until  the  Imperial  approval  has  been  granted.  To  the 
Synod  is  attached  one  lay  member,  the  Czar’s  Procura¬ 
tor,  who  is  the  real  director  of  the  church  policy.  Peter 
the  Great  facetiously  called  this  official  “  The  Emperor’s 


296  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

Eye,”  and  it  is  an  appropriate  term.  Even  the  simplest 
act  of  administration  must  receive  his  approval. 

The  Synod  was  established  by  Peter  the  Great  to  re¬ 
place  the  Patriarch,  who  had  formerly  been  at  the  head 
of  ecclesiastical  affairs.  Peter  decided  that  the  Patriarch 
had  too  much  authority,  even  rivalling  his  own  in  the 
eyes  of  the  peasants.  The  simple  people  were  not  quick 
to  see  the  distinction  between  the  spiritual  and  the  tem¬ 
poral  power.  Awed  by  the  splendour  of  the  Patriarch 
and  his  court  —  for  the  Patriarch  had  his  own  nobles 
and  administration  officers  —  they  imagined  him  to  be 
a  second  sovereign,  equal  and  even  superior  in  some 
respects  to  the  Autocrat  himself.  In  the  event  of  a  dis¬ 
pute  in  authority,  they  were  inclined  to  take  the  part  of 
the  Patriarch,  believing  that  God  was  on  that  side. 

Associated  with  the  Synod  are  the  Supreme  Ecclesias¬ 
tical  Courts,  and  the  bureaus  through  which  all  matters 
connected  with  the  Church  must  eventually  pass.  These 
Courts  decide  all  questions  of  divorce  among  all  classes 
except  the  peasantry,  and  an  average  of  about  a  thousand 
divorces  is  granted  each  year.  The  censure  of  all  books 
or  pamphlets,  which  relate  to  theology  and  ecclesiastical 
history,  also  comes  within  their  province.  The  Empire 
is  divided  into  bishoprics,  to  some  of  which  the  title  of 
archbishop  is  attached.  In  these  dioceses  there  are  in¬ 
ferior  ecclesiastical  courts  with  their  staff  of  officials. 
Through  the  Procurator  the  connection  is  kept  between 
the  throne  and  the  Church.  It  may  be  said  that  they 
generally  are  in  harmony,  for  their  interests  are  common. 
The  downfall  of  one  would  undoubtedly  mean  ruination 
for  the  other.  Each  is  autocratic  in  form  and  govern¬ 
ment,  and  the  stability  of  the  one  aids  the  other.  Hence 
it  is  that  one  will  find  all  the  clergy,  almost  without  ex¬ 
ception,  intensely  loyal  to  the  person  of  the  Czar,  even 


Religious  Forces 


297 


though  they  may  be  at  variance  with  some  of  his  offi¬ 
cials. 

The  surface  indications  of  religious  devotion  are  om¬ 
nipresent.  If  we  followed  the  peasants  in  their  every¬ 
day  life,  we  should  hear  God’s  name  at  almost  every 
step.  The  traveller  through  the  country  is  reminded  of 
this  devotion  every  hour  of  the  day.  An  icon,  which  is 
a  pictorial  representation  of  the  Saviour,  the  Madonna, 
or  a  saint  that  has  been  blessed  by  a  priest,  will  be  found 
in  every  room  in  a  real  Russian  hotel.  The  use  of 
“  graven  images  ”  is  considered  idolatrous  by  the  Ortho¬ 
dox  Church,  and  therefore  the  representations  of  Christ 
and  the  saints  are  confined  to  flat  surfaces  and  bas-re¬ 
liefs.  These  icons  are  generally  half-length  representa¬ 
tions,  in  archaic  Byzantine  style,  on  a  yellow  or  gold 
ground,  and  vary  in  size  from  an  inch  square  to  several 
feet.  They  are  generally  embossed  with  a  metal  plaque 
to  form  the  figure  and  drapery. 

The  icons  are  made  by  the  thousands  in  certain  towns, 
and  can  be  bought  at  a  very  low  price.  Every  steamer 
will  have  one  icon  before  which  a  light  is  generally  kept 
burning.  At  least  it  will  be  lit  at  the  commencement  of 
the  voyage,  and  whenever  the  weather  becomes  threaten¬ 
ing.  At  most  of  the  stations  large  shrines  are  erected 
within  the  waiting-rooms.  At  one  side  will  be  found  a 
tray,  on  which  are  candles  of  various  sizes  and  ranging 
in  price  from  five  to  fifty  kopecks.  As  the  time  for  the 
departure  of  the  train  approaches,  the  traveller  will  see 
one  person  after  another  go  up  and  take  a  candle ;  they 
light  them  and  place  the  burning  taper  in  one  of  the 
sockets  before  the  image,  after  crossing  themselves  and 
devoutly  bowing.  This  may  be  to  secure  a  safe  journey 
for  himself  or  herself,  or  some  loved  one  who  is  about 
to  make  a  journey. 


298  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


A  home  without  its  icons  would  be  a  rarity.  They 
will  be  found  in  every  Russian  home,  from  the  hut  of 
the  poorest  peasant  to  the  palace  of  the  Czar  himself. 
They  are  generally  placed  high  up  in  a  corner  facing  the 
door.  Good  Orthodox  Christians  will  bow  themselves 
and  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  as  they  enter.  The  same 
ceremony  is  usually  gone  through  before  and  after  meals. 
On  the  eve  of  a  birthday  a  small  lamp  is  usually  kept 
burning  before  at  least  one  of  the  icons  in  the  house. 
Every  building,  for  whatever  purpose  it  may  be  destined, 
is  blessed  by  a  priest  when  completed.  This  custom  ap¬ 
plies  to  the  palace  of  a  prince  and  the  humble  izba  of 
the  peasant  alike.  The  priest  goes  through  the  house 
chanting  the  litany,  and  imploring  a  special  blessing  on 
each  room,  according  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  des¬ 
tined.  In  the  case  of  a  factory  this  ceremony  is  made 
a  notable  one,  and  generally  ends  up  with  a  feast  for 
the  workmen  and  their  families  with  real  Russian  hos¬ 
pitality.  The  merchants  place  icons  in  their  house  of 
business,  the  court  rooms  all  contain  them,  and  I  have 
seen  them  in  the  police  headquarters.  Many  of  the  pris¬ 
oners  brought  in  there  certainly  have  need  for  the  inter¬ 
cession  of  some  power  greater  than  mere  earthly  author¬ 
ity.  They  will  be  found  in  every  vodka-shop,  and  in  the 
vilest  abode  of  licensed  shame  in  the  cities. 

On  the  streets  shrines  abound  everywhere.  I  have 
observed  people  on  the  street  cars  make  crosses  in  almost 
every  block.  The  sign  of  the  cross  is  unlike  the  briefer 
Roman  Catholic  observance.  The  forehead  is  touched 
where  rested  the  crown  of  thorns,  the  side  is  touched 
where  entered  the  cruel  spear,  and  the  other  motions  are 
a  condensed  representation  of  the  crucifixion  on  Calvary. 
The  man  will  invariably  take  off  his  hat  before  perform¬ 
ing  this  act  of  homage.  Your  droshki  driver  will  fre- 


Religious  Forces 


299 


quently  do  the  same  act,  although  he  may  have  passed 
by  the  same  spot  many  times  that  day.  An  istvostchick, 
who  has  sat  motionless  near  a  shrine  for  a  long  time,  will 
suddenly  take  off  his  hat  and  cross  himself,  no  doubt 
praying  the  saint  for  a  good  “  fare.”  Some  of  these 
shrines  are  much  more  holy  than  others.  The  Czar  on 
his  arrival  in  Moscow  invariably  pays  his  first  visit  to 
the  icon  of  the  Iversky  Virgin,  on  whose  face  there  is 
a  mark  said  to  have  been  inflicted  by  a  Tartar’s  hand. 
One  shrine  might  be  looked  upon  with  special  veneration 
by  one  person  and  not  by  another,  because  his  patron 
saint  is  another  personage. 

The  icons  are  of  two  kinds  —  the  simple  and  mirac¬ 
ulous.  The  latter  are  comparatively  few,  and  they  are 
all  carefully  preserved  either  in  a  chapel  or  a  church. 
Like  the  images  to  be  found  throughout  Latin  lands, 
these  icons  are  believed  to  have  appeared  in  some  mirac¬ 
ulous  way.  Some  one  —  it  may  have  been  a  monk  or 
an  ordinary  individual  —  has  had  a  vision,  in  which  he 
is  told  that  a  supernatural  icon  will  be  found  in  a  certain 
place.  He  goes  and  finds  it,  and  then  takes  it  to  a  church. 
The  people  hear  of  it  and  flock  to  this  church.  Many 
are  healed  of  their  diseases.  This  is  then  reported  to 
the  Holy  Synod,  an  investigation  is  made,  and,  if  con¬ 
vinced  that  all  is  right,  recognition  is  granted  and  the 
icon  is  thereafter  treated  with  the  greatest  veneration. 
As  these  icons  are  the  source  of  a  great  deal  of  revenue 
to  the  convents  or  monasteries,  they  are  in  great  demand, 
and  the  closest  investigation  is  not  always  made.  The 
Madonna  of  Kazan  has  annual  fete-days  instituted  in 
her  honour.  Many  others  have  great  honours  heaped 
upon  them,  mention  of  which  is  made  elsewhere  through¬ 
out  the  book.  The  Smolensk  Madonna  accompanied  the 
Russian  army  in  the  campaign  against  Napoleon,  and 


300  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


is  now  greatly  revered  for  the  success  it  brought  to 
Russian  arms. 

There  are  so  many  miraculous  images  in  Russia,  to 
which  pilgrimages  are  made,  that  I  will  describe  but  one 
which  I  witnessed.  The  pilgrimages  to  Kiev,  the  holy 
city,  have  been  described  many  times,  but  I  have  never 
seen  mention  of  this  one. 

In  Kharkov,  which  is  also  a  venerated  city,  although 
not  so  holy  as  Kiev,  dwells  a  miraculous  image.  In  the 
winter  this  icon  resides  in  the  cathedral  in  the  city,  and 
in  the  spring  it  is  taken  out  to  its  summer  residence,  a 
few  miles  distant.  On  the  occasion  of  these  migrations 
between  the  summer  and  the  winter  residences  of  the 
icon,  Kharkov  is  a  place  for  pilgrimage  among  the  Little 
Russians.  I  was  in  Kharkov  at  the  time  that  the  spring 
migration  was  made.  The  scenes  reminded  me  very 
much  of  the  pilgrimage  to  see  the  Virgin  of  Guadalupe, 
near  the  City  of  Mexico.  On  the  day  previous  to  the 
celebration  I  went  out  some  distance  from  the  city  along 
one  of  the  main  lines  of  travel.  Groups  of  peasants,  in 
twos  or  dozens,  were  constantly  coming  along  this  path, 
all  bound  toward  the  city. 

Many  of  the  peasants  were  aged  men  and  women. 
One  old  man  in  particular  excited  my  compassion.  His 
steps  were  feeble,  and  he  seemed  to  be  travelling  en¬ 
tirely  alone.  With  the  aid  of  his  staff,  he  was  barely 
able  to  climb  a  small  hill  just  before  reaching  the  city. 
One  blind  boy  was  being  led  by  some  one  else  more 
fortunate.  Each  one,  even  the  little  folks,  carried  a  staff, 
and  each  one  had  a  bundle  on  his  back  as  well.  In  this 
bundle  would  be  a  pillow  and  a  blanket,  and  many  car¬ 
ried  an  extra  pair  of  shoes  to  relieve  their  feet,  for  they 
had  come  long  distances.  If  any  great  distance  is  to 
be  traversed  these  pilgrims  form  themselves  into  a  com- 


PILGRIMS  ARRIVING  AT  KHARKOV 


Religious  Forces 


301 


pany,  and  all  march  forward  under  their  chosen  leader. 
It  is  oftentimes  a  touching  sight.  Many  have  very  small 
means,  but  each  peasant  household  stands  ready  and 
willing  to  help,  even  if  it  is  only  a  bit  of  black  bread. 
Many  a  night  is  spent  under  God’s  canopy.  The  one 
fear  with  many  is  that  they  may  break  down  and  fail 
to  reach  the  goal. 

The  bright  costumes  of  these  Little  Russian  women, 
in  which  the  red  predominates,  made  a  very  pretty  pic¬ 
ture  as  they  tramped  along  the  path  toward  the  city. 
On  Sunday  morning  Kharkov  was  alive  with  people. 
The  market-place  was  so  crowded  that  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  wend  one’s  way  through  it.  Vendors  of 
sweet  bread,  fruits,  and  other  eatables  were  scattered  all 
about  the  city,  while  others  sold  beads,  icons,  crosses, 
and  other  holy  articles  to  the  pilgrims.  The  patience  of 
the  Little  Russians  was  well  exemplified  in  their  attitude 
during  the  long  wait  before  the  procession  began.  There 
was  none  of  that  impatience  and  restlessness  which  one 
would  find  in  an  American  crowd.  They  sat  on  the 
curb,  in  doorways,  or  even  on  the  rough  stones  of  the 
pavement,  if  no  other  place  was  available,  and  would 
remain  almost  motionless  for  hours. 

In  the  cathedral  there  was  a  constant  movement  of 
these  peasants.  Women  predominated,  although  they 
were  not  so  greatly  in  excess  of  the  men.  It  was  very 
noticeable  that  all  were  of  the  peasant  class,  for  this 
saint  is  specially  venerated  by  them.  Men  and  women 
alike  prostrated  themselves  to  the  floor  before  the  sacred 
images  in  the  church,  and  kissed  others  which  were 
specially  venerated.  They  were  continually  reaching  in 
their  pockets  for  the  kopecks,  which  seem  to  be  such  a 
necessary  part  of  their  worship.  A  poor  peasant  would 
place  a  kopeck  in  each  one  of  several  of  the  contribution 


302  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


boxes,  and  buy  a  candle  or  two  to  be  placed  before  a 
certain  image.  It  seemed  rather  heartless  to  me  to  see 
the  attendants  of  the  church  go  around  and  pluck  out 
these  candles,  sometimes  even  before  they  were  half 
burned,  in  order  to  make  a  place  for  fresh  ones  which 
others  were  ready  to  light. 

Another  kopeck  or  two  would  be  paid  for  a  little  bun 
or  loaf  of  bread  which  was  sold  in  the  church.  Upon 
this  the  name  of  some  friend,  departed  or  alive,  is  placed 
for  whom  they  wish  prayers  to  be  offered.  The  igno¬ 
rance  of  these  peasants  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  they 
were  not  able  to  write  these  inscriptions  themselves,  but 
had  to  employ  the  services  of  a  scrivener,  who  had  a 
table  near  by,  and  was  ready  to  write  this  inscription 
for  another  kopeck.  These  loaves  would  then  be  left 
with  the  official  in  charge  to  be  blessed  by  the  priests, 
and  would  be  secured  from  them  later.  The  priests  must 
have  been  obliged  to  bless  them  by  the  wholesale,  be¬ 
cause  it  would  have  been  an  absolute  impossibility  to 
bless  each  one  individually.  These  scenes  of  the  deep 
faith  of  a  simple  people  brought  the  tears  to  my  eyes  on 
more  than  one  occasion. 

Within  all  the  churches  the  same  veneration  exists. 
One  cannot  help  but  feel  that  there  is  something  more 
real  and  deeper  than  mere  ceremonial  formality.  There 
is  a  force  here  to  be  reckoned  with,  whether  you  call  it 
fanaticism  or  religious  feeling.  The  usual  Russian 
church,  unlike  Roman  Catholic  edifices,  does  not  contain 
a  large  nave.  The  interior  space  is  generally  small  and 
is  made  up  of  several  chapels,  each  with  a  brilliantly 
gilded  altar.  Enter  the  church  at  any  time,  and  one  will 
see  the  worshippers  come  in.  Many  bow  their  heads 
to  the  floor,  not  once  only  but  thrice  or  a  score  of  times 
—  not  before  one  altar  alone  but  each  one  in  turn.  They 


Beligious  Forces 


303 


may  kiss  a  half-dozen  sacred  icons  before  leaving  the 
sanctuary.  I  have  seen  them  lie  prostrate  on  the 
floor.  The  visit  is  seldom  ended  without  the  pur¬ 
chase  of  a  candle  to  place  before  one  of  the  altars. 
Although  many  men  may  be  seen  doing  these  same 
acts  of  homage,  it  must  be  said  that  by  their  dress 
they  can  easily  be  placed  among  the  poorer  peasant 
class. 

No  instrumental  music  is  permitted,  but  the  choirs 
have  magnificent  voices.  There  is  no  seating  space  in 
the  churches,  and  during  the  services,  which  are  gen¬ 
erally  very  long,  the  people  patiently  stand.  They  do 
this,  they  say,  as  they  would  in  the  presence  of  an  earthly 
sovereign.  They  frequently  cross  themselves  fervently, 
not  so  much  at  a  particular  point  in  the  service,  all  in 
unison,  but  as  the  impulse  seizes  each  individual  wor¬ 
shipper.  The  services  as  a  rule  are  very  impressive,  as 
the  long-haired  priests  recite  the  litany  in  their  deep- 
toned  voices,  and  the  choir  chant  their  responses  in  mu¬ 
sical  tones. 

In  many  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  Orthodox  Church 
there  is  undoubtedly  a  great  deal  of  pagan  superstition 
mixed  up  with  their  Christian  belief.  Many  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  superstitions  are  centuries  old,  and  have  their  origin 
far  back  in  the  times  of  paganism.  The  only  difference 
is  that  they  have  been  Christianized  in  form,  just  as  they 
have  in  Mexico  and  South  America.  They  have  re¬ 
placed  Rerun,  their  old  god  of  thunder,  with  Elijah. 
When  it  thunders  the  people  say,  “  It  is  Elijah  the 
Prophet,  who  is  driving  his  chariot  on  the  clouds.”  The 
flashes  of  lightning  are  the  arrows  he  throws  to  the  earth. 
It  is  he  who  sends  or  withholds  rain  or  hail,  and  special 
prayers  are  offered  to  him  when  a  drouth  is  threatened. 
With  the  advent  of  Christianity  the  heathen  gods  and 


304  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


goddesses  were  not  annihilated,  but  were  simply  driven 
from  heaven  into  hell.  They  there  assumed  the  charac¬ 
ter  of  malignant  spirits,  waging  constant  war  against 
the  people  and  compelling  them  to  be  constantly  on  their 
guard.  The  peasants  sometimes  have  the  priests  perform 
their  rites,  and  then  follow  these  with  their  old  pagan 
ceremonies.  The  pop  may  be  held  in  the  greatest  rev¬ 
erence,  but  the  sorcerer  is  certainly  the  most  feared. 
Many  of  their  saints  have  been  identified  with  their 
former  deities,  and  they  think  if  the  one  ceremony  does 
not  please,  the  other  will. 

There  is  one  ceremony,  called  “  Blessing  the  Waters,” 
held  as  winter  approaches,  says  Mr.  Palmer.1  A  pro¬ 
cession  is  formed,  but  a  wide  space  is  left  for  all  the 
demons,  sprites,  and  other  strange  invisible  creatures 
to  march.  Priest  and  people  chant  the  litany  as  they 
march  toward  the  stream  where  a  cross  has  been  erected. 
Peasants  cut  a  hole  in  the  ice,  and  while  the  priest  pro¬ 
nounces  their  doom,  all  these  uncanny  creatures  must 
leap  into  the  icy  waters.  In  the  spring  when  the  ice 
melts  these  creatures  are  freed  again,  so  the  priest  is 
called  to  bless  all  the  fields  in  order  to  ensure  good  crops. 
Then  again  the  ripening  crop  must  be  blessed  before  it 
is  harvested. 

There  are  two  classes  of  clergy  in  the  Orthodox 
Church,  the  White  and  the  Black.  Between  these  two 
classes  of  priests  there  is  a  bitter  hostility.  The  former 
are  the  parish  priests,  and  the  latter  are  the  monks,  from 
whom  are  drawn  all  the  higher  church  officials.  To  this 
fact  much  of  the  hostility  is  due.  Another  reason  is  the 
almost  military  authority  exercised  over  the  White 
Clergy  by  their  bishops,  and  the  severe  discipline  in  the 
seminaries  which  are  also  under  the  control  of  the  Black 
1  Russian  Life  in  Town  and  Country. 


Religious  Forces 


305 


Clergy.  The  parish  priest  must  be  married,  but  the  Black 
Clergy  are  celibates. 

The  history  of  the  White  Clergy  is  rather  curious. 
At  one  time  any  one  was  eligible  to  this  rank.  The  mem¬ 
bers  were  drawn  freely  from  all  classes,  and  the  candi¬ 
dates  presented  to  the  diocesan  bishop  for  approval.  If 
he  was  approved,  ordination  at  once  followed.  This 
system  was  not  satisfactory,  however,  as  many  of  the 
candidates  presented  were  illiterate.  Hence  the  bishops 
gradually  assumed  the  right  of  selecting  the  candidates. 
The  sons  of  clergy  were  generally  chosen,  because  they 
were  better  educated,  and  thus  grew  up  a  priestly  class 
which  still  exists  in  Russia.  A  new  name  is  given  by 
the  bishop  to  the  young  priest  as  soon  as  he  enters  the 
seminary.  When  a  candidate  for  the  priesthood  is  ready 
to  take  orders,  the  bishop  finds  for  him  a  wife,  which 
is  most  likely  to  be  the  daughter  of  another  priest.  By 
the  rules  of  the  Church  marriage  cannot  take  place  after 
the  ceremony  of  ordination.  As  the  members  of  this 
priestly  class  have  increased  faster  than  the  places  to  be 
filled,  there  are  many  poor  priests  who  find  it  difficult 
to  provide  even  the  simple  necessaries  of  life.  Their 
sons  are  obliged  to  find  some  other  employment,  which 
is  oftentimes  difficult. 

The  village  priest,  or  pop,  is  very  often  almost  as 
poor  as  his  parishioners.  He  is  not  always  looked  up 
to  with  the  greatest  respect  by  his  people,  for  it  may  be 
that  his  personal  habits  do  not  invite  respect  for  the  cloth. 
This  lack  of  personal  influence  among  the  clergy  is  one 
of  the  peculiar  anomalies  of  the  Orthodox  Church. 
There  are,  of  course,  marked  exceptions  to  this  general 
rule,  as  some  priests  have  been  exceedingly  popular  and 
have  exercised  a  great  influence  on  the  people.  The  fact 
that  the  priests  form  a  caste  probably  has  as  much  to 


306  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


do  with  it  as  anything.  In  this  way  they  acquire  a  pe¬ 
culiar  character  with  certain  ideals,  so  that  even  the 
habits  are  influenced  by  generations  of  the  same  calling. 

Regardless  of  their  feeling  toward  the  priests  as  indi¬ 
viduals,  the  peasants  have  the  greatest  faith  in  the  cere¬ 
monies  of  the  Church.  The  rites  and  services  of  the 
Church  are  accepted  without  question,  even  though  per¬ 
formed  by  a  priest  for  whom  the  recipient  feels  only 
contempt.  The  clergy  are  the  only  ones  who  can  per¬ 
form  these  divinely-appointed  rites.  Provided  the  pop 
be  the  right  pop,  and  the  words  he  utters  be  the  right 
words,  and  spoken  in  the  proper  way,  and  in  the  right 
place,  they  are  certain  to  have  the  desired  effect.  The 
character  of  the  speaker,  or  his  commercial  spirit  in  the 
transaction,  makes  no  difference  whatever.  The  sacred¬ 
ness  of  these  ceremonies  is  impressed  upon  them  almost 
daily  by  the  popular  customs  that  enter  into  their  daily 
life.  The  peasant  who  has  been  baptized  in  infancy,  has 
regularly  observed  the  fasts,  has  partaken  of  the  com¬ 
munion,  and  has  just  received  extreme  unction,  awaits 
death  with  perfect  tranquillity.  He  has  no  fear  of  the 
future,  and  probably  little  regret  for  the  past.  A  man 
with  murder  or  robbery  in  his  heart  may  go  to  the  shrine 
of  his  favourite  saint,  and  there  promise  to  place  so  many 
roubles’  worth  of  candles  in  front  of  the  saint’s  image, 
before  he  does  the  deed.  And  he  will  probably  carry  out 
his  promise.  Knowing  this  feeling  the  clergy  attribute 
an  inordinate  importance  to  the  ceremonial  element  in 
religion. 

The  village  priest  will  probably  insist  upon  the  pay¬ 
ment  in  advance  of  his  fees  for  baptisms,  weddings,  etc., 
for  even  with  these  he  may  have  a  hard  time  to  keep 
his  family.  As  a  result,  a  haggling  over  fees  often  re¬ 
sults  between  the  pop  and  the  moujik.  The  latter  may 


Religious  Forces 


307 


go  away  in  despair,  only  to  return  a  little  later  and  resume 
his  efforts  for  an  abatement  of  a  few  kopecks.  The  pop 
does  not  preach  much,  for  this  is  not  expected  of  him, 
as  he  is  simply  an  instrument  to  carry  out  the  ceremonial 
forms  of  the  Church.  He  does  not  encourage  education, 
for  to  be  a  good  Orthodox  Christian  it  is  not  necessary 
to  be  able  to  read  the  Scriptures.  The  unsatisfactory 
condition  of  the  clergy,  and  character  as  well,  is  admitted 
by  all  the  better  educated  classes,  but  as  yet  very  little 
has  been  done  to  improve  conditions.  There  are  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  members  of  the  White 
Clergy.  The  government  has  made  large  appropriations 
to  relieve  the  poverty  of  the  village  priests,  but  most  of 
it  has  been  spent  in  embellishing  churches,  or  in  propa¬ 
ganda  among  the  non-Orthodox  people  of  the  Empire. 
If  the  priest’s  wife  dies,  he  cannot  marry  again,  but  may 
continue  his  work  as  a  widower,  or  may  become  a  monk. 
If  he  chooses  the  latter  course,  as  many  do,  he  then  be¬ 
comes  eligible  for  the  higher  positions,  for  all  bishops 
and  those  above  the  rank  of  bishop  are  monks.  As  long 
as  his  wife  lives,  he  can  rise  no  higher  than  a  rural  dean. 

Each  province,  or  government,  forms  a  diocese,  and, 
like  the  civil  governor,  the  Bishop  has  a  council  to  assist 
him.  The  priests  of  a  diocese  are  under  the  Bishop, 
who  rules  in  conjunction  with  the  Diocesan  Consistory. 
The  Bishop  can,  with  the  consent  of  this  body,  sentence 
a  refractory  priest  to  a  term  of  imprisonment.  This 
Consistory  is  represented  in  each  district  by  the  blaget- 
chinny,  who  is  detailed  to  exercise  personal  supervision 
over  the  village  priests.  He  is  a  sort  of  spy.  This  gov¬ 
erning  body  consists  of  both  Black  and  White  Clergy  and 
laymen.  It  has  clerks  and  a  secretary,  and  controls, 
among  other  things,  the  church  schools  and  seminaries, 
the  relief  of  poor  priests,  and  the  pensioning  of  those 


308  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


who  have  retired.  It  also  holds  a  court  to  determine 
religious  offences.  It  is  in  close  touch  with  the  rural 
deans,  who  are  responsible  for  the  parish  priests. 

The  Black  Clergy  form  a  large  and  very  influential 
class,  and  from  them  are  drawn  all  the  higher  ecclesias¬ 
tical  authorities.  Archbishop  is  a  personal  title,  and  does 
not  give  control  over  a  wider  see  than  that  of  bishop. 
Bishops  and  archbishops  are  alike  under  the  Metropoli¬ 
tan,  while  all  are  subject  to  the  Synod..  There  are  three 
of  these  Metropolitans,  respectively  the  heads  of  the 
three  historic  Lavry,  or  greater  monasteries.  These 
three  Lavry  are  the  Trinity  Monastery,  near  Moscow, 
the  St.  Alexander  Nevsky  Monastery,  at  St.  Petersburg, 
and  the  Cave  Monastery,  of  Kiev.  The  lesser  monas¬ 
teries,  of  which  there  are  about  five  hundred  still  remain¬ 
ing,  are  ruled  by  igurnens,  or  priors. 

The  monks  and  monasteries  occupy  a  very  important 
part  in  the  life  of  the  Church  in  Russia.  The  monks 
who  first  settled  in  Russia  were  similar  to  the  early 
Roman  monks  —  men  of  the  ascetic  missionary  type. 
They  were  filled  with  evangelical  zeal,  and  thought  prin¬ 
cipally  of  the  salvation  of  souls.  They  lived  on  simple 
fare.  But  as  the  monasteries  increased  in  wealth,  the 
life  grew  less  simple  and  austere.  It  is  claimed  that  at 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  fourth  of  the 
population  were  serfs  of  the  Church.  The  Troitsa  Mon¬ 
astery  alone  at  one  time  possessed  more  than  one  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  serfs.  Many  of  the  monasteries  were 
engaged  in  commerce,  and  the  monks  were  recognized 
as  shrewd  merchants.  When  the  church  lands  were  sec¬ 
ularized,  the  serfs  passed  to  the  state.  From  that  time 
the  power  of  the  monasteries  became  less,  for  their  great 
source  of  wealth  was  gone.  Their  downfall  was  un¬ 
doubtedly  due  to  the  arrogance  and  luxury  that  follows 


A  RUSSIAN  MONASTERY 


Religious  Forces 


309 


the  acquisition  of  wealth.  The  monks  wear  long  black 
robes,  and  a  high  black  hat  without  a  brim,  from  which 
a  black  veil  descends  down  the  back.  A  look  at  their 
rotund  bodies  shows  that  they  are  well  kept  and  groomed. 
Unlike  the  Roman  Catholic  orders,  however,  they  are 
not  occupied  in  any  special  work. 

The  Troitsa,  or  Trinity,  Monastery,  the  shrine  of  the 
Holy  St.  Sergius,  is  situated  about  forty  miles  from 
Moscow.  In  sanctity  it  ranks  next  to  Kiev;  in  richness 
it  is  superior  to  all  Russian  monasteries.  It  was  founded 
in  1 337  by  Sergius,  who  built  for  himself  and  a  few 
disciples  some  cells  and  a  small  wooden  church.  Reports 
of  miraculous  cures,  with  visions  of  the  Virgin  and  holy 
apostles,  soon  brought  numerous  pilgrims.  Money  poured 
in,  and  with  wealth  came  ambition  as  well  as  power. 
Troitsa  has  many  historical  memories.  Here  Basil  the 
Sightless  was  dragged  by  his  enemies  to  be  blinded. 
Peter  the  Great  once  sought  asylum  here  when  his  life 
was  threatened.  The  present  monastery  looks  like  a  for¬ 
tress,  and,  in  fact,  has  withstood  more  than  one  siege. 
The  surrounding  walls  vary  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet 
in  height,  and  are  almost  a  mile  in  circuit.  Handsome 
Gothic  towers  are  evident  at  intervals  as  lookouts. 

Within  these  walls  there  are  ten  churches,  besides 
numerous  chapels.  There  is  a  splendid  palace  for  the 
Metropolitan,  a  seminary,  a  hospital  and  the  dwellings 
of  the  monks,  and  necessary  buildings  for  such  a  com¬ 
munity.  The  most  celebrated  church  is  the  Cathedral  of 
the  Trinity,  within  which  are  the  bones  of  St.  Sergius. 
1  he  shrine  is  of  pure  silver  and  weighs  half  a  ton.  When 
the  Poles  occupied  the  Kremlin  of  Moscow,  the  priests 
and  officials  fled  here,  and  the  monastery  was  besieged 
for  four  months.  But,  under  the  protection  of  her  saint, 
the  fortress  proved  impregnable.  The  treasures  of  this 


310  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


monastery  are  many  and  rich.  Among  its  jewels,  some 
one  has  said,  are  a  bushel  of  pearls  and  a  pint  of  the 
finest  diamonds,  not  to  mention  the  emeralds,  rubies  and 
sapphires  almost  innumerable.  Its  land  holdings  were 
at  one  time  enormous.  Even  to-day,  after  most  of  its 
holdings  have  been  confiscated,  it  is  wonderfully  rich 
and  has  a  great  revenue. 

Russia  is  a  land  of  many  beliefs  dissenting  with  the 
official  Orthodox  Church.  The  first  split  came  about  the 
time  of  Peter  the  Great,  with  whom  nearly  everything 
seems  to  originate.  To  correct  certain  errors,  the  Pa¬ 
triarch  Nikon  issued  a  new  edition  of  the  mass-book, 
which  had  been  carefully  revised  and  corrected  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  old  Slavonic  and  Greek  originals,  in  1659. 
He  ordered  all  the  old  liturgical  books  to  be  called  in 
and  new  ones  distributed.  Many  refused  to  accept  the 
innovations.  This  was  a  natural  result  of  the  extreme 
stress  that  had  always  been  laid  upon  ceremony  and 
details  of  ritual.  The  most  important  innovation  was 
the  position  of  the  fingers  in  making  the  sign  of  the 
cross.  Heretofore  the  Russians  held  two  fingers  to¬ 
gether  when  they  crossed  themselves,  while  the  Greeks 
used  three  fingers,  uniting  into  one  point.  The  Greek 
form  was  enjoined  by  the  new  ritual.  In  their  proces¬ 
sions  the  Russians  turned  their  steps  westward,  going 
with  the  sun,  while  the  Greeks  marched  eastward.  Here, 
also,  the  Greek  custom  was  followed.  The  Hallelujah 
was  directed  to  be  sung  thrice,  after  the  manner  of  the 
old  Greek  tradition,  instead  of  twice.  A  new  spelling 
of  the  name  of  Jesus  was  likewise  introduced.  The  Rus¬ 
sians  had  dropped  the  letter  “  e,”  and  this  was  restored. 

“  And  yet  it  was  for  these  trifles,”  says  Mr.  Stepniak, 
“  —  a  letter  less  in  a  name ;  a  finger  more  in  a  cross ; 
the  doubling  instead  of  trebling  of  a  word  —  that  thou- 


Religious  Forces 


311 


sands  of  people,  both  men  and  women,  encountered  death 
on  the  scaffold  or  at  the  stake.” 

The  peasants  had  made  up  magic  numbers  from  cer¬ 
tain  verses  in  the  Bible.  The  altered  wording  upset  all 
of  these,  and  spread  dismay  among  the  ignorant  and 
superstitious.  The  calendar  was  changed  to  begin  with 
the  Christian  Era,  instead  of  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
and  this  aroused  fresh  indignation.  Decrees  of  excom¬ 
munication  upon  those  who  failed  to  conform  failed  to 
stop  the  schism.  Their  souls  were  given  up  to  eternal 
torment  along  “  with  the  traitor  Judas  and  the  Jews, 
by  whom  Christ  was  crucified.”  As  all  the  saints,  holy 
Patriarchs,  and  previous  Czars  had  used  these  same 
books  and  rites,  which  were  now  condemned  as  heretical, 
the  natural  deduction  to  be  drawn  was  that  they  were 
likewise  condemned  to  eternal  damnation.  It  was  a  large 
order  that  the  heads  of  the  Church  had  undertaken  to 
fulfill.  Secular  as  well  as  ecclesiastical  despotism  was 
aroused  by  the  impudence  of  benighted  moujiks,  who 
dared  to  reason  for  themselves  on  questions  of  religion. 
The  nonconformists  regarded  themselves  as  the  official 
Orthodox  Church.  Many  of  the  more  fanatical  fled  to 
the  northern  forests,  and  others  to  adjoining  lands.  The 
order  of  Peter  to  shave  the  face  was,  in  their  opinion, 
an  attempt  to  disfigure  “  the  image  of  God,”  after  whom 
man  had  been  fashioned.  They  would  rather  have  lost 
their  heads  than  their  beards.  His  association  with  west¬ 
ern  heretics  could  only  come  from  the  evil  one  himself. 
Peter  finally  issued  an  order  relieving  all  dissenters,  pro¬ 
vided  they  paid  a  double  poll-tax.  Even  this  was  abol¬ 
ished  by  Catherine  II.  ‘Had  this  toleration  been  shown 
in  the  beginning,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  numbers  of  the 
dissenters  would  have  grown  to  so  great  proportions. 

The  nonconformists  have  split  up  into  many  factions, 


S12  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


some  of  which  are  almost  fanatical.  The  very  earnest¬ 
ness  of  the  people  in  their  newly  awakened  yearning 
after  religious  truth  made  it  impossible  that  one  mould 
should  fit  all.  At  the  present  day  the  old  ritualistic 
branch  alone  numbers  several  millions  of  followers.  One 
faction  is  priestless,  and  the  other  has  its  own  organiza¬ 
tion  of  bishops  and  clergy.  The  latter  had  great  diffi¬ 
culty  at  first  in  getting  priests,  and  used  to  secure  the 
discarded  priests  of  the  regular  body.  At  last  they  got 
a  bishop  to  secede,  and  since  then  they  have  their  own 
ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  All  efforts  of  the  National 
Church  to  win  them  back  have  heretofore  failed.  The 
Old  Ritualists  are  especially  strong  among  the  Don  Cos¬ 
sacks. 

No  nation  in  the  world  probably  contains  so  many 
strange  religious  beliefs  as  Russia,  unless  it  is  the  United 
States.  At  least  none  contains  those  who  follow  such 
strange  practices.  There  are  sects  which  believe  in  the 
reincarnation  of  Christ,  some  which  interpret  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  literally,  and  others  which  pay  little  or  no  attention 
to  the  Bible,  but  derive  their  doctrine  from  living  teach¬ 
ers.  In  fact,  they  seem  to  be  groping  in  the  dark  and 
yearning  for  something  they  know  not  what.  Some 
confine  their  idiosyncrasies  to  peculiar  actions,  such  as 
dancing  or  jumping;  a  few  prefer  celibacy,  while  others 
practice  self-mutilation.  Some  admit  polygamy,  while 
others  protest  against  the  family  life  in  any  form.  The 
practice  of  many  of  these  would  not  bear  description. 

The  Doukhobors  were  one  of  the  outgrowths  of  this 
dissenting  movement.  Their  doctrines  are  very  compli¬ 
cated  and  contain  some  strange  ideas.  They  do  not 
believe  in  God  as  a  separate  Being.  The  Deity  dwells 
in  the  souls  of  men.  They  accept  the  Scriptures,  but 
with  their  own  interpretation.  They  consider  themselves 


Religious  Forces 


313 


as  the  only  true  worshippers,  while  all  the  resf  of  man¬ 
kind  are  wallowing  in  superstition  and  idolatry.  They 
likewise  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls.  A  newly- 
born  child  has  no  soul,  and  the  soul  enters  the  body 
gradually  from  the  sixth  to  the  fifteenth  year.  The 
Doukhobors  are  a  peculiar  people,  but  they  were  perse¬ 
cuted  and  many  fled  to  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
In  the  latter  country  their  extraordinary  practices  have 
caused  some  trouble. 

The  most  numerous  of  all  the  strange  creeds  is  prob¬ 
ably  the  sect  known  as  the  Molakane,  whose  belief  re¬ 
sembles  Protestant  faiths.  This  latter  sect  places  more 
stress  on  the  life  of  its  members  than  on  the  practice  of 
certain  ceremonies.  They  are  great  students  of  the 
Bible,  and  their  leaders  know  it  almost  by  heart  from 
cover  to  cover.  They  are  strict  Christians  and  almost 
Orthodox  in  dogma.  The  Molakanes  have  become  good 
citizens,  as  they  lay  great  stress  on  education  and  tem¬ 
perance. 

Thousands  of  Russian  pilgrims  go  to  the  Holy  Land 
each  year.  These  peasants,  ragged  and  unkempt,  may 
be  seen  any  day  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  In  number 
the  Russian  pilgrims  exceed  those  of  all  the  European 
nations  together.  They  will  march  hundreds  of  miles 
on  foot  to  Odessa,  or  some  other  port,  and  embark  for 
Jaffa.  The  Orthodox  Society  of  Palestine  maintains 
refuges,  and  runs  special  steamers  for  the  transportation 
of  these  pilgrims  at  an  extremely  low  rate  of  fare.  Many 
of  these  pilgrims  are  old  men  and  women,  who  never 
expect  to  return  to  their  native  land  alive.  It  is  a  sad 
and  pitiful  sight  to  see  these  bands  of  religious  devotees 
going  on  what  may  be  their  last  earthly  journey. 

Russia  is  both  tolerant  and  intolerant  toward  other 
faiths.  It  is  fairly  tolerant  toward  those  of  alien  birth 


314  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


who  profess  other  faiths.  But  if  an  Orthodox  Russian 
becomes  a  Roman  Catholic  or  Lutheran,  he  is  not  only 
condemned  by  public  opinion  as  a  renegade  and  an  apos¬ 
tate,  but  he  is  amenable  to  the  criminal  law.  He  can, 
for  that  offence,  be  deprived  of  all  his  civil  rights,  and 
his  property  would  pass  to  his  heirs  as  though  he  were 
already  dead.  Ecclesiastical  prosecutions  are  by  no 
means  rare,  even  if  not  very  common.  If  a  member  of 
another  church  marries  a  member  of  the  Orthodox 
Church,  his  or  her  children  must  be  brought  up  in  the 
latter  faith.  The  alien  churches  are  likewise  forbidden 
to  attempt  to  secure  converts  from  the  Russian  Church, 
and  many  losses  occur  to  them  through  mixed  marriages, 
which  are  very  common  in  German  communities. 

The  Lutheran  Church  in  Russia  is  a  religious  body 
distinct  from  the  denomination  having  the  same  name 
in  Sweden  and  Germany.  It  was,  of  course,  brought 
into  Russia  by  German  colonists.  Most  of  the  Germans 
in  Russia,  all  the  Finns  and  the  Esthonians,  belong  to 
this  church,  and  there  are  at  least  six  million  members 
in  the  Empire.  At  its  head  is  a  bishop,  and  there  is  a 
council  called  the  General  Consistory  to  aid  him.  Their 
belief  is  similar  to  that  of  the  so-called  Reformed  Church 
of  Germany.  There  are  five  provincial  consistories,  the 
St.  Petersburg,  Moscow,  Esthonian,  Livonian  and  Cour- 
lancl.  The  three  last  named  are  in  the  Baltic  Provinces, 
where  the  bulk  of  tbe  population  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  Church.  This  church  has  numerous  charitable 
organizations  which  it  maintains  in  many  places. 

Of  other  Protestant  denominations  there  are  compara¬ 
tively  few  members,  and  no  work  of  any  magnitude  is 
being  carried  on.  Since  1905  a  greater  toleration  has 
been  shown.  Wherever  there  are  fifty  members  of  a 
religious  denomination,  permission  will  be  granted  to 


Religious  Forces 


315 


erect  an  edifice.  Under  this  new  ruling  the  Baptist  and 
Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  have  built  up  a  few  con¬ 
gregations.  The  great  drawback  to  the  work  is  that 
propaganda  is  forbidden,  and  the  term  is  not  defined. 
Should  a  Protestant  Church  receive  into  its  fold  one  who 
had  formerly  been  baptized  into  the  Orthodox  Church, 
even  though  it  was  an  entirely  voluntary  act  on  that 
individual’s  part,  the  minister  could  be  held  guilty  of  a 
violation  of  the  law.  Thus  far  no  trouble  has  been  ex¬ 
perienced,  as  the  interpretation  has  been  liberal,  but  no 
one  knows  when  another  Pobiedonestzev  may  appear. 

There  are  millions  of  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  Russia.  The  Holy  Synod  is  especially  bitter 
toward  this  denomination.  This  may  be  due  in  part  to 
its  association  with  the  Polish  nationalist  movement.  Its 
principal  strength  is  in  the  Polish  provinces,  where  it 
is  practically  supreme.  The  Russian  Church  is  undoubt¬ 
edly  pushing  a  propaganda  among  the  Polish  people. 
Great  and  imposing  Russian  churches  abound  in  War¬ 
saw,  many  more  than  the  membership  would  warrant. 
Some  of  these  were  formerly  Roman  Catholic  edifices. 
A  magnificent  cathedral  was  dedicated  there  in  1912, 
which  had  cost  several  million  dollars.  There  is  a  sect 
in  Poland  which  has  broken  away  from  the  Roman  Cath¬ 
olic  Church,  but  which  adopts  most  of  its  creed,  and  is 
conducting  an  active  campaign  throughout  the  country. 
That  this  sect  is  being  financed  by  the  Holy  Synod  is 
the  general  belief,  as  it  seems  to  have  unlimited  funds 
and  receives  official  aid  whenever  possible. 

The  Holy  Synod  has  made  even  less  effort  to  convert 
the  Mohammedan  element  of  the  population,  of  which 
faith  there  are  fully  seventeen  millions  of  followers.  A 
splendid  mosque  has  just  been  built  in  St.  Petersburg 
itself.  In  the  palace  grounds  at  Tsarskoi-Selo,  a  pretty 


316  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


little  mosque  is  maintained  for  the  Mohammedan  sol¬ 
diers  in  the  Imperial  Guard.  The  strongholds  of  the 
followers  of  Islam  are  the  Crimea,  the  Caucasus,  the 
Trans-Caspian  provinces,  and  along  the  Volga. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


THE  RISE  OF  MUSCOVITE  SUPREMACY 

The  Slavs  —  Varangians  —  Rurik  —  Vladimir  —  Yaroslav  —  Tartar  Em¬ 
pire —  The  Dolgorukis  —  Vassili  the  Blind  —  Ivan  the  Great  — 
Ivan  the  Terrible  —  Barbaric  Russia  —  Feodor  —  Boris  Godunov  — 
The  False  Dmitri. 

History  does  not  tell  us  when  the  first  Asiatic  hordes 
began  to  pour  into  the  regions  now  included  within  Eu¬ 
ropean  Russia.  It  was  probably  as  early  as  that  of  any 
other  branch  of  the  Aryan  race.  We  know  that  as  early 
as  the  fifth  century,  b.  c.,  the  Greeks  had  established 
trading  stations  on  the  northern  shores  of  the  Black  Sea 
with  the  motley  tribes  of  barbarians  that  swarmed  about 
that  region,  who  were  indiscriminately  designated  as 
Scythians  by  them.  Tacitus,  the  Roman  historian,  writes 
of  the  Slavs  on  the  southwestern  shores  of  the  Baltic 
Sea,  whom  he  classes  as  Europeans,  because  they  build 
houses,  wear  shields  and  fight  on  foot.  There  are  other 
early  records  which  speak  of  Slav  tribes  along  the  Dan¬ 
ube,  who  were  driven  eastward  by  a  strange  race  during 
the  reign  of  Trojan. 

The  Roman  Empire  rose  and  fell,  and  still  there  was 
no  Russia.  Spain,  France,  Italy  and  England  were  ta¬ 
king  on  a  new  and  vigorous  life  through  the  Teuton 
infusion,  and  modern  Western  Europe  was  coming  into 
being  long  before  even  the  name  of  Russia  existed.  The 
Goths  had  established  their  empire,  and  the  Huns  had 

317 


318  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


overturned  Europe  before  there  was  a  Russia.  The 
Eastern  Empire,  which  outlived  the  Western  Empire  a 
thousand  years,  was  nearing  its  end  before  the  Musco¬ 
vite  Empire  began  to  form  itself  on  its  present  lines.  It 
is  the  Eastern,  or  Byzantine  Empire,  which  has  ever 
influenced  Russia,  and  this  fact  has  given  that  country 
an  entirely  different  tinge  from  those  nations  which  fell 
under  the  sway  of  the  Western  Empire  and  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church. 

The  Slavs  were  an  agricultural,  and  not  a  warlike 
people.  All  that  the  Slav  asked  for  was  to  be  permitted 
to  gather  his  harvest,  and  to  dwell  in  his  wooden  towns 
and  villages  in  peace.  The  family  life  and  tribal  govern¬ 
ment  were  alike  founded  on  the  patriarchal  principle,  so 
that  the  Mir  was  only  an  expansion  of  the  old  family 
idea  of  the  early  Slav  race.  This  race  had  gradually 
spread  over  the  great  steppes  of  European  Russia.  At 
the  time  when  the  earliest  records  that  have  been  handed 
down  to  us  were  written,  important  settlements  seemed 
to  have  been  established  already  at  Novgorod,  Rostov, 
Kiev,  and  Smolensk.  Owing  to  their  unwarlike  charac¬ 
ter  the  inroads  of  nations  and  tribes  pressing  from  the 
outside  began  to  be  felt,  and  the  Slavs  were  disheartened. 
Roving  bands  of  Scandinavians,  who  are  called  in  Rus¬ 
sian  history  the  Varangians,  had  come  down  from  their 
northern  homes  on  trading  expeditions.  Their  first  ap¬ 
pearance  was  at  about  the  same  time  that  the  Norsemen 
were  overturning  Western  Europe.  The  Varangians  set¬ 
tled  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  various  trading 
towns,  and  it  was  not  long  until  they  came  into  almost 
undisputed  control  of  the  cities.  They  were  not  a  na¬ 
tion,  but  a  band  of  exiled  adventurers  and  armed  mer¬ 
chants.  They  were  generally  men  of  lofty  stature  and 
reckless  courage.  Each  band  had  its  chosen  leader. 


The  Rise  of  Muscovite  Supremacy  319 


They  are  not  dissimilar  to  or  unworthy  mates  of  the 
Normans  of  France. 

The  Slavs  invited  three  of  these  Varangians,  brothers 
by  the  name  of  Rurik,  Sineus,  and  Truvor,  to  rule  over 
them.  This  was  in  the  year  862,  and  from  that  year  the 
Russians  date  their  history.  Rurik  settled  at  Novgorod, 
Sineus  on  the  White  Lake,  and  Truvor  in  Izborsk.  On 
the  death  of  his  two  brothers,  Rurik  came  into  sole  sov¬ 
ereignty,  and  it  was  from  him  that  all  the  rulers  down 
to  the  House  of  Romanov  trace  their  genealogy.  Kiev 
was  soon  brought  under  the  same  rule,  and  a  number  of 
other  cities  were  added  to  this  house.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  the  word  Russia,  or  Rouss,  first  came  into  existence, 
although  the  meaning  and  origin  of  the  word  is  very 
much  disputed.  Some  think  that  it  was  derived  from  a 
province  in  Sweden;  others  say  that  it  originated  from 
the  banks  of  the  Dnieper.  At  any  rate,  the  word  Rouss, 
applied  to  the  upper  classes  of  Slav  society,  begins  to 
appear  in  the  historical  records. 

In  955,  according  to  the  chronicles  of  Nestor,  Olga, 
the  widow  of  Igor,  who  ruled  at  Kiev  during  the  minor¬ 
ity  of  her  son,  Sviatoslav,  went  to  Constantinople  to 
inquire  into  the  mysteries  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
was  baptized  under  the  new  name  of  Helen.  She  thus 
became  the  first  Christian  convert  among  a  people  who 
had  formerly  been  worshippers  of  a  pantheism  founded 
upon  the  phenomena  of  nature.  It  had  really  become 
a  polytheism.  They  had  neither  temples  nor  priests,  but 
erected  rude  idols  of  wood  upon  the  hills,  where  sacri¬ 
fices  were  offered.  The  oak  was  venerated  as  being  con¬ 
secrated  to  Rerun.  They  had  sorcerers  and  magicians, 
whose  councils  appear  to  have  had  great  weight.  Thus 
we  see  that  although  Russia  took  her  ruling  house  from 
the  sturdy  Norsemen,  she  took  her  religion  from  the 


320  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


south,  from  that  branch  of  the  Christian  Church  which 
had  seceded  from  Rome  in  the  famous  schism.  In  other 
words,  a  military  conquest  from  the  north,  and  an  eccle¬ 
siastical  conquest  from  the  south,  decided  the  destiny  of 
the  Russia  and  the  Russians  of  the  future.  The  Slav, 
which  was  the  dominant  race,  seems  to  have  been  as  clay 
in  the  hands  of  the  potter  under  his  Norse  rulers.  Al¬ 
though  the  Slav  was  very  greatly  in  the  majority,  only 
a  very  few  of  the  names  that  are  recorded  in  the  history 
down  to  this  time  are  of  Slavonic  origin. 

The  man  destined  to  propagate  these  two  imported 
ideas  of  religion  and  government  was  Vladimir,  who 
ruled  at  Kiev  from  972  to  1015.  His  accession  to  what 
afterwards  proved  to  he  the  nucleus  of  the  Russian  Em¬ 
pire  illustrates  a  weakness  of  the  government  at  that  time. 
Sviatoslav,  instead  of  leaving  his  dominion  to  his  oldest 
son,  introduced  a  system  of  Appanages,  which  was  to 
become  a  fatal  source  of  weakness.  He  divided  his  king¬ 
dom  into  three  parts,  which  were  distributed  to  his  three 
sons,  Yaropolk,  Oleg  and  Vladimir.  Oleg  assassinated 
Yaropolk,  and  was  in  turn  assassinated  by  Vladimir, 
who  then  remained  in  control  of  all  that  his  father  had 
ruled.  This  same  cool  way  of  determining  the  succession 
runs  through  Russian  history  for  a  long  period.  It  also 
hindered  a  strong  nation  being  built  up,  and  made  pos¬ 
sible  the  Tartar  dominion  of  a  later  period. 

The  early  years  of  Vladimir  are  noted  for  their  un¬ 
bridled  profligacy  and  sensuality.  He  seems  to  be  noth¬ 
ing  but  a  wily,  voluptuous  and  bloody  barbarian  in  his 
conduct.  He  had  many  wives  and  a  numerous  progeny. 
His  soul  seems  to  have  been  troubled,  however,  so  the 
chronicles  relate,  and  he  began  to  search  for  a  religion 
which  would  satisfy  his  longings.  He  turned  to  the  Slav 
gods,  but  they  gave  him  no  satisfaction.  He  is  said  to 


The  Rise  of  Muscovite  Supremacy  321 


have  investigated  Mohammedanism,  Judaism,  and  Ca¬ 
tholicism,  none  of  which  comforted  his  spirit.  At  last 
he  remembered  that  his  grandmother,  Olga,  had  adopted 
the  Greek  religion.  - 

“  If  the  Greek  religion  had  not  been  best,”  said  his 
counsellors,  “  your  grandmother  Olga,  the  wisest  of  mor¬ 
tals,  would  not  have  adopted  it.”  In  order  to  go  not 
as  a  beggar  but  as  a  conqueror,  he  headed  an  expedition 
against  Byzantium,  for  he  would  be  baptized  by  no  one 
else  but  the  Patriarch  himself.  Some  successes  alarmed 
the  Caesar  on  the  throne  at  that  time,  and  he  was  ready 
to  grant  almost  any  demand.  Vladimir  demanded  the 
hand  of  a  sister  of  the  emperor  in  marriage,  and  this 
was  given  upon  the  condition  of  baptism,  which  was 
exactly  what  the  barbarian  wanted.  He  came  back  to 
Kiev  with  a  new  wife,  and  the  new  name  of  Basil.  With 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  came  books,  laws,  pic¬ 
tures  and  music.  Architects  and  artists  from  Constanti¬ 
nople  likewise  came  in  its  train.  From  this  time  the 
Christianizing  of  the  Slavs  began  in  earnest,  and  that 
fact  has  determined  to  a  great  extent  the  character  which 
finally  formed  itself  among  the  people.  Had  Vladimir 
gone  to  Rome,  and  taken  his  religious  faith  from  the 
Pope,  the  development  of  Russian  civilization  might 
have  been  much  more  like  that  of  Western  Europe  than 
it  is. 

At  the  death  of  Vladimir  the  partitioning  of  his  do¬ 
minions  among  the  numerous  heirs,  of  whom  there  were 
many  by  his  numerous  wives,  followed.  The  country 
was  converted  into  a  group  of  principalities,  ruled  by 
the  princes  of  the  blood  of  Rurik,  of  which  the  Grand 
Prince  ruled  at  Kiev.  Kiev  thus  became  the  “  Mother 
of  Cities,”  and  had  a  recognized  supremacy  over  the  rest 
of  the  country.  This  method  of  partitioning  was  a 


322  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


standing  invitation  for  assassination  and  anarchy,  and 
the  opportunity  was  seldom  neglected.  In  later  years  it 
became  still  worse,  as  the  members  of  the  ruling  family 
became  more  numerous,  which  left  a  greater  number  of 
those  eligible  to  the  throne,  and  ambitious  for  it  as  well. 
After  a  carnival  of  fraternal  murder,  Yaroslav  found 
himself  sole  master  upon  the  throne  at  Kiev.  He  waged 
several  successful  wars,  encouraged  literature,  and  for¬ 
mulated  a  code  of  laws.  By  this  code,  called  the  Russian 
Right,  private  revenge  was  encouraged,  the  judicial  duel 
established,  and  the  ordeal  of  red-hot  iron  and  boiling 
water  introduced. 

Yaroslav  introduced  the  knout  into  Russia.  Corporal 
punishment  was  unknown  among  the  Slavs  prior  to  this 
time,  and  was  really  abhorrent  to  the  Slav  instincts.  The 
severities  of  punishment,  such  as  flogging,  torture,  mu¬ 
tilation,  and  other  refinements  of  cruelty,  and  even  the 
death  penalty,  came  from  the  same  city  as  the  religion. 
Civilization  had  not  penetrated  very  far  at  this  time,  for 
culture  and  advancement  were  confined  almost  entirely 
to  the  princes  and  their  military  and  civil  households. 

With  the  death  of  Yaroslav,  in  1054,  the  heroic  period 
in  Russia  ends.  Thus  far  there  has  been  a  certain  unity 
in  the  thread  of  Russian  history,  but  now  comes  chaos 
for  the  next  two  centuries.  The  national  territory  was 
ceaselessly  partitioned.  In  that  time  sixty-four  princi¬ 
palities  had  an  existence  more  or  less  prolonged,  and  no 
fewer  than  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  princes  are  said 
to  have  disputed  the  throne  of  Kiev  and  her  domains. 
There  were  eighty-three  civil  wars  and  a  number  of  for¬ 
eign  wars. 

In  the  year  1224  there  appeared  in  the  southeast  an 
invading  host  of  Asiatics.  As  the  Russian  chronicler 
puts  it :  “  There  came  upon  us  for  our  sins,  unknown 


The  Rise  of  Muscovite  Supremacy  323 


nations.  No  one  could  tell  their  origin,  whence  they 
came,  what  religion  they  professed.  God  alone  knows 
who  they  were,  or  where  they  came  from  —  God,  and 
perhaps  wise  men  learned  in  books.”  These  invaders 
were  the  Tartars,  who  proved  to  be  the  vanguard  of  a 
vast  army  destined  to  sweep  over  the  steppes  of  Russia. 
The  division  into  principalities  made  Russia  an  easy  prey. 
Among  the  various  princes  there  was  little  cohesion.  It 
was  simply  necessary  for  the  Tartars  to  conquer  one 
prince  after  another,  and  put  him  under  tribute.  Al¬ 
though  the  Russians  fought  bravely,  the  onward  march 
of  the  Mongols  was  unchecked.  At  first  they  seemed 
satisfied  with  the  sovereignty  of  the  plains  of  the  south, 
and  did  not  attempt  to  invade  the  wooded  regions  of  the 
north.  This  period  soon  came  to  an  end,  and  their  con¬ 
quest  spread.  It  was  not  so  much  the  superior  numbers 
of  the  Tartars  that  made  them  seemingly  irresistible,  as 
the  fact  that  the  entire  army  moved  as  one  man.  Vladi¬ 
mir  capitulated,  and  Moscow  was  burned.  In  1240  Kiev, 
the  residence  of  the  Grand  Prince,  fell  under  the  Tartar 
dominion.  There  was  now  a  Mongol  empire  where  there 
had  been  a  number  of  Russian  principalities.  In  fact,  all 
of  Russia  had  fallen,  with  the  single  exception  of  Nov¬ 
gorod  the  Great. 

The  Tartar  rule  was  an  easy  yoke  so  long  as  the  as¬ 
sessed  tribute  was  paid.  The  Russians  were  allowed 
their  own  princes,  were  permitted  to  retain  their  lands 
and  customs,  and  might  worship  any  god  they  chose. 
One  Khan  had  a  Christian  chapel  near  his  palace,  and 
regularly  took  part  in  the  festival  of  Easter.  The 
princes  were  required  to  go  to  the  house  of  the  Great 
Khan,  and  prostrate  themselves  in  the  dust  as  an  act  of 
submission.  Even  Alexander  Nevski,  the  man  who  had 
defeated  the  Swedes,  the  vanquisher  of  the  Livonian 


324  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

Knights,  who  was  at  that  time  at  the  head  of  Novgorod, 
performed  this  act  of  homage,  and  died  from  exhaustion 
and  humiliation  on  his  journey  home.  The  Great  Khan 
was  likewise  the  arbiter  in  the  case  of  disputes.  These 
Oriental  rulers  showed  a  great  deal  of  skill  in  playing 
off  one  prince  or  ambassador  against  another.  The  Tar¬ 
tars  at  this  time  were  pagans,  but  in  1272  they  adopted 
Mohammedanism  and  became  ardent  followers  of  the 
Prophet. 

For  two  and  one-half  centuries  the  Tartars  ruled  Rus¬ 
sia,  and  left  an  indelible  impression  upon  its  civilization. 
One  result  was  a  moral  degradation.  They  forgot  pride 
and  trusted  to  cunning  to  accomplish  their  ends.  They 
exchanged  the  virtues  of  the  strong  for  the  expedients 
of  the  weak.  Gifts,  bribes,  and  intrigue  were  the  usual 
weapons  employed.  The  princes  conspired  against  each 
other  before  the  Tartar  Khans.  Racial  and  personal 
pride  seems  to  have  disappeared  absolutely  in  this  low- 
water  period  of  Russian  history.  In  every  way  the  ma¬ 
terial,  political,  and  moral  progress  of  the  country  was 
retarded.  The  dress  of  the  upper  classes  became  more 
Eastern,  and  some  of  the  princes  married  Tartar  women; 
but,  as  a  whole,  fewer  traces  of  Tartar  admixture  can 
be  seen  in  Russia  to-day  than  might  be  expected. 

The  end  of  the  Tartar  dominion  was  the  result  of  the 
rise  of  Moscow.  It  was  due  to  the  extraordinary  vitality 
of  the  Dolgoruki.  Moscow  had  been  founded  by  George 
Dolgoruki,  the  last  Grand  Prince  of  Kiev.  One  of  his 
successors,  Daniel  Dolgoruki,  son  of  Alexander  Nevski, 
proved  to  be  the  master  of  the  Oriental  in  cunning  and 
cruelty.  This  family  of  Moscow  princes  had  established 
the  habit  of  giving  to  the  eldest  son  the  principality,  with 
only  insignificant  portions  to  the  others.  In  this  way 
the  strength  of  the  central  government  had  been  built 


The  Rise  of  Muscovite  Supremacy  325 


up,  and  a  dynasty  created.  At  this  time,  also,  Moscow 
was  the  ethnographical  centre,  and  was  protected  by  its 
central  position  from  foreign  foes.  It  was  likewise  the 
largest  of  the  Russian  principalities  in  extent  of  territory. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  gloomier  or  darker  period 
in  history  than  that  which  records  the  transition  of 
Russia  into  Muscovy. 

There  is  a  line  of  eight  Muscovite  princes  from  Daniel 
(1260)  to  the  death  of  Vassili  the  Blind  (1462).  Each 
one  had  moved  forward  steadily  toward  one  end,  which 
was  the  centralizing  of  power,  and  a  preparation  for  the 
expelling  of  the  Tartar.  One  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  these  princes  was  Dmitri  Ivanovitch  (1363-1389). 
He  fought  the  Tartars  on  the  banks  of  the  Don,  and  won 
a  famous  victory  over  them.  This  is  a  celebrated  battle 
in  Russia,  and  won  for  Dmitri  the  surname  of  Donskoi. 
Moscow  had  in  the  meantime  become  the  ecclesiastical 
centre  by  the  removal  of  the  Metropolitan  there.  This 
took  away  the  religious  supremacy  from  Kiev  and 
Vladimir,  and  greatly  increased  the  prestige  of  Mos¬ 
cow. 

Ivan  III,  known  as  the  Great,  son  of  Vassili  the  Blind, 
came  to  the  throne  in  1462.  At  the  time  of  his  accession 
Russia  was  all  but  stifled  between  the  great  Lithuanian 
Empire  on  the  west  and  the  vast  possessions  of  the  Mon¬ 
gols  on  the  south  and  east.  To  the  north  there  were  two 
restless  peoples  —  the  Swedes  and  the  Livonian  Knights. 
The  unity  of  the  Empire  was  now  in  embryo,  but  not 
yet  an  accomplished  fact.  Russia  had  only  intermittent 
relations  with  the  centres  of  Western  European  civiliza¬ 
tion,  where  the  dominant  nations  were  beginning  to 
emerge.  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation,  and 
the  epoch  of  the  discoveries  of  new  worlds. 

Ivan  the  Great  was  a  cold,  calculating  and  imperious 


326  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

man,  the  very  type  that  one  might  expect  to  grow  up 
in  the  atmosphere  of  Moscow.  He  wept  for  relatives 
whom  he  himself  caused  to  be  put  to  death,  and  his  ap¬ 
parent  religious  fervour  was  ever  mingled  with  hypoc¬ 
risy.  He  allowed  the  idea  to  get  abroad  that  he  himself 
was  cowardly,  and  he  did  not  personally  take  part  in 
battles.  He  was  more  successful,  however,  in  winning 
battles  at  home  in  his  palace  than  many  kings  have  been 
in  the  field  at  the  head  of  their  troops.  He  exhausted  his 
enemies  by  negotiations  and  delays,  and  never  employed 
force  until  it  became  absolutely  necessary. 

The  first  effort  of  Ivan  toward  a  unification  of  all  Rus¬ 
sians  was  directed  against  Novgorod,  whose  liberties  he 
destroyed  and  deprived  her  of  her  colonies.  The  Boyars 
flocked  to  Moscow  from  far  and  near,  and  formed  an 
aristocracy  who  helped  him  in  his  ambitions.  They  con¬ 
sisted  of  men  whose  ancestors  had  once  possessed  por¬ 
tions  of  Russian  territory.  Most  of  them  belonged  to 
titled  families  from  districts  which  had  been  annexed  to 
Muscovy.  The  great  body  of  the  Tartars  had  been  dis¬ 
solved  into  four  Khanates.  This  disintegration  of  the 
Mongols  aided  Ivan  in  his  campaigns  against  them,  and 
facilitated  the  growth  of  Moscow.  His  marriage  with 
Sophia  Palaeologus,  which  was  brought  about  by  the 
suggestion  of  the  Pope,  gave  Ivan  additional  prestige, 
as  she  was  the  last  heir  to  the  Caesars  of  Constantinople. 
Hence  it  was  that,  with  successful  wars  and  shrewd  diplo¬ 
macy,  Ivan  the  Great  left  the  Muscovite  Empire  very 
much  stronger  at  his  death  than  it  was  when  he  came 
into  power.  The  territory  had  been  more  than  doubled, 
and  the  foundation  of  the  future  greatness  of  Russia 
was  successfully  laid. 

The  reign  of  Ivan’s  son,  Vassili  Ivanovitch,  pales  in' 
its  significance  between  the  reign  of  his  father  and  that 


IVAN  THE  GREAT 


The  Rise  of  Muscovite  Supremacy  327 


of  his  successor,  Ivan  IV,  who  is  generally  known  as 
Ivan  the  Terrible.  The  last  named  ruler  has  been,  and 
still  is,  very  differently  estimated  by  historians.  By  some 
he  is  accused  of  being  a  monster  in  human  form,  while 
others  attempt  to  excuse  his  cruelties  as  simply  repre¬ 
sentative  of  an  age  in  which  cruel  punishments  were 
common  everywhere.  The  latter  class  are  more  con¬ 
cerned  with  the  part  he  played  in  the  historical  develop¬ 
ment  of  Russia  than  his  morality  or  humanity  as  an  in¬ 
dividual.  The  reign  covered  more  than  half  a  century, 
from  1533  to  1584. 

Like  Peter  the  Great  the  childhood  of  Ivan  was  sad 
and  unfortunate.  He  himself  speaks  of  his  youth  in 
the  following  words :  “  We  and  our  brother  Iouri  were 
treated  like  foreigners,  like  the  children  of  beggars.  We 
were  ill  clothed;  we  were  cold  and  hungry.”  It  seemed 
as  though  all  of  those  whom  he  loved,  his  nurse  and  some 
other  servants,  had  been  torn  from  him.  This  neglect 
resulted  from  the  intriguing  of  the  nobles  for  the  su¬ 
preme  power.  Even  the  treasures  and  fine  furniture  of 
the  palace  were  pillaged  by  these  lawless  clans  under  the 
very  eyes  of  this  youth.  A  child  thus  neglected  and 
humiliated,  yet  knowing  the  power  and  prestige  of  his 
position,  must  sooner  or  later  become  his  own  master. 
At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  ordered  his  guards  to  seize 
Andrew  Choniski,  who  had  been  acting  as  chief  of  the 
government,  and  then  and  there  had  him  torn  to  pieces 
by  hounds.  Several  others  were  banished  to  distant 
towns.  From  this  time  Ivan  was  master. 

A  change  is  noted  in  the  character  of  Ivan  following 
a  serious  illness  in  1553,  when  it  was  thought  he  would 
surely  die.  The  Boyars  resumed  their  former  arrogance, 
and  refused  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  son  of  Ivan,  in 
the  case  of  the  death  of  the  Czar.  In  fact,  it  is  the  con- 


328  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


stant  conflict  between  this  class  and  the  Czar  that  is  the 
main  factor  in  the  reign  of  Ivan  the  Terrible.  Before 
the  unification  of  the  country  discontented  nobles  were 
free  to  pass  from  the  service  of  one  master  to  another; 
now  there  was  no  place  to  go  except  Moscow.  It  is  said 
that  Ivan  suffered  terrible  anguish  during  the  trying 
days  of  his  illness,  anticipating  what  might  be  the  result 
of  his  death  upon  his  family.  When  he  finally  recovered 
he  seems  to  have  given  himself  up  to  the  spirit  of  re¬ 
venge.  He  lost  all  confidence  in  his  favourites,  many 
of  whom  were  banished  from  the  court.  He  lost  all 
faith  in  everybody,  and  seemed  to  think  that  the  only 
way  to  rule  was  to  instil  fear  and  terror  in  those  around 
him. 

It  is  painful  to  read  of  the  exceeding  cruelties  of  Ivan 
the  Terrible,  although  he  seems  to  have  been  seized  with 
remorse  on  more  than  one  occasion.  We  read  of  a  letter 
from  him  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Cyril,  in  which  Ivan 
asks  prayers  for  thirty-four  hundred  and  seventy  victims, 
of  whom  nine  hundred  and  eighty-six  are  mentioned  by 
name.  Many  of  these  names  are  followed  by  the  words 
—  “  with  his  wife,”  “  with  his  wife  and  children,”  “  with 
his  daughters,”  or  “  with  his  sons.”  This  shows  that  in 
many  instances  he  must  have  exterminated  entire  fam¬ 
ilies.  Thus  we  find  Ivan’s  character  and  life  a  curious 
compound  of  barbarism  and  greatness.  At  other  times 
he  might  be  seen  clothed  in  monkish  garments  and  head¬ 
ing  religious  processions  and  other  pious  exercises.  He 
was  more  than  a  rival  of  Henry  VIII  of  England  in  the 
number  of  his  wives.  Ivan  was  accustomed  to  carry  in 
his  hands  an  iron  staff,  and  this  led  to  the  greatest  trag¬ 
edy  of  his  life.  In  an  altercation  with  his  son,  Ivan,  one 
day,  the  Czar  struck  him  a  fatal  blow.  Great  and  fierce 
was  his  sorrow,  but  remorse  could  not  bring  life  again 


The  Rise  of  Muscovite  Supremacy  329 


into  the  dead  clay.  He  survived  this  son  only  three 
years. 

Ivan’s  government  was  entirely  personal,  and  with 
him  began  the  real  autocracy  as  it  still  exists.  He  bent 
the  entire  country  to  his  will.  Nevertheless  he  assembled 
the  first  general  assembly  in  the  history  of  Russia,  and 
organized  a  Council  of  Boyars  to  administer  a  part  of 
the  country  at  one  time.  Through  conflicts  with  sur¬ 
rounding  nations  the  confines  of  Russia  were  extended 
by  Ivan  the  Terrible,  and  the  Empire  now  extended  from 
the  Caspian  Sea  to  the  White  Sea.  The  Tartar  Khan¬ 
ates  of  Kazan  and  Astrakhan  had  been  absorbed,  and 
there  was  left  only  the  Khan  of  the  Crimea  to  oppose 
Russian  sovereignty. 

A  glance  at  the  Russia  of  this  period  may  be  interest¬ 
ing.  In  some  respects  it  was  almost  barbaric.  When 
the  Czar  desired  to  marry,  he  addressed  a  circular  to  the 
governors  in  the  towns  and  provinces,  commanding  them 
to  send  to  Moscow  the  most  beautiful  girls  of  the  Em¬ 
pire.  Fifteen  hundred  maidens  have  thus  been  assembled 
from  whom  the  Grand  Prince  might  make  a  choice.  The 
legislation  in  the  matter  of  debts  was  as  severe  as  that 
of  the  Twelve  Tables  of  the  Roman  Law.  An  insolvent 
debtor  was  tied  up  half  naked  in  a  public  place,  and  beaten 
three  hours  a  day.  This  punishment  was  repeated  for 
thirty  or  forty  days.  If,  by  that  time,  no  one  heeded  his 
lamentations  and  paid  his  debt,  he  was  sold  into  slavery, 
and  his  wife  and  children  were  also  placed  in  service.  In 
case  of  an  accusation  of  debt,  the  accused  was  subjected 
to  tortures  worthy  of  the  Spanish  Inquisition.  Women 
were  almost  as  secluded  as  in  any  country  of  the  Orient. 
A  woman  had  practically  no  civil  rights,  but  was  always 
under  the  guardianship  of  her  father,  husband,  or  some 
relative.  She  was  supposed  to  obey  her  husband  or 


330  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


father  as  a  slave  obeys  his  master.  He  had  the  same 
right  to  chastise  her,  and  a  stout  woman  would  submit 
to  a  beating  from  a  feeble  husband.  Ignorance  was  gen¬ 
eral,  and  there  was  practically  no  intellectual  life  in  Rus¬ 
sia.  Debauchery  and  drunkenness  were  national  sins. 
Many  of  the  priests  themselves  were  little  better  than 
their  parishioners. 

The  period  following  the  death  of  Feodor  (1584- 
1598),  son  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  is  known  as  the  Time 
of  the  Troubles.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  thehe  is  no  time 
in  Russian  history  when  there  has  not  been  plenty  of 
trouble.  Feodor  was  a  religious  recluse,  and  the  power 
gradually  fell  into  the  hands  of  one  Boris  Godunov,  a 
very  ambitious  man.  Feodor  left  no  heirs,  his  brother 
Dmitri  having  been  murdered.  Suspicion  fell  upon 
Godunov,  but  a  commission  appointed  by  him  reported 
that  the  young  prince  had  cut  his  own  throat.  With 
Feodor  the  House  of  Rurik  ended,  and  a  simple  Boyar 
ascended  the  throne.  Godunov’s  claim  to  the  autocracy 
was  confirmed  by  a  popular  assembly,  which  he  con¬ 
vened  from  the  lesser  nobility  and  clergy. 

A  few  years  later  rumours  began  to  appear  that  Dmitri 
was  not  dead,  but  was  preparing  to  march  into  Russia 
from  Poland,  and  claim  his  own.  He  had  taken  refuge 
in  a  monastery,  and  now  he  announced  that  he  was  the 
Czarevitch  Dmitri.  Godunov  died  in  1605,  probably 
having  been  poisoned,  and  Moscow  opened  her  gates  to 
Dmitri,  who  was  soon  afterwards  crowned.  The  mother 
of  the  slain  Dmitri  recognized  this  upstart  as  her  son. 
But  the  Boyars,  who  had  invented  this  claimant  to  the 
throne,  soon  tired  of  his  acts,  and  he  was  conveniently 
murdered  after  a  short  reign  of  eleven  months.  Anarchy 
and  confusion  followed  the  ending  of  the  old  dynasty 
and  the  impostor  who  succeeded.  There  was  an  epi- 


The  Rise  of  Muscovite  Supremacy  331 


demic  of  false  Dmitris  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The 
condition  of  affairs  became  desperate,  and  the  name 
given  to  this  period  of  Russian  history,  the  Time  of 
Troubles,  is  not  a  misnomer. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


PETER  THE  GREAT  AND  THE  EARLY  ROMANOVS 

Brigand  of  Touchino  —  Michael  Romanov  —  Alexis  Michaelovitch  — 
Sophia  and  Her  Strange  Rule  —  Youth  of  Peter  the  Great  —  His 
Journeys  of  Investigation  —  Reforms  —  Wars  —  Unhappy  Domestic 
Life  —  Death  of  the  Czarevitch. 

Russia  had  indeed  reached  an  unfortunate  condition 
at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  it  was 
possible  for  a  runaway  monk  to  enter  Moscow  and  be 
crowned  as  Czar  of  Russia.  On  the  death  of  this  false 
Dmitri  it  became  necessary  to  choose  a  new  sovereign. 
The  country  was  still  unsettled.  Another  Dmitri,  known 
as  the  Brigand  of  Touchino,  arose,  and  gained  many 
adherents.  The  King  of  Poland,  who  had  always  fos¬ 
tered  and  encouraged  the  disturbances  in  Russia,  put 
forward  his  son  Vladislas,  for  the  vacant  throne.  But 
the  latter  was  a  Catholic.  A  practical  union  of  Poland 
and  Russia  seemed  to  many  of  the  Boyars  to  promise 
good  results.  The  Poles  marched  on  to  Moscow  with¬ 
out  serious  resistance,  and  they  finally  entered  the  Krem¬ 
lin.  The  Swedes  were  pressing  at  the  north,  and  had 
occupied  Novgorod  the  Great.  Bands  of  brigands  in¬ 
fected  the  highways,  pillaged  towns,  and  desecrated 
churches. 

This  troubled  condition  brought  about  a  spontaneous 
national  uprising.  Priests,  merchants  and  nobles  were 
alike  aroused.  Their  lands  were  in  danger,  and  the  Or¬ 
thodox  faith  was  threatened.  “  If  we  wish  to  save  the 
Muscovite  Empire,”  said  Minine,  a  butcher,  “  we  must 

332 


Peter  the  Great 


333 


spare  neither  our  lands  nor  our  goods;  let  us  sell  our 
houses,  and  put  our  wives  and  children  to  service;  let 
us  seek  a  man  who  will  fight  for  the  Orthodox  faith,  and 
march  under  his  banner.” 

The  religious  appeal  practically  confined  the  choice  of 
a  ruler  to  the  Russians.  A  great  deal  of  scheming  and 
rivalry  immediately  arose.  But  one  name  was  heard 
over  all  others,  and  that  was  Michael  Romanov,  a  kin 
of  Ivan  IV.  A  national  assembly  drawn  from  all  ele¬ 
ments  of  the  population  was  summoned  —  the  first  of 
its  kind  in  Russia.  On  the  21st  of  February,  1613,  the 
first  Sunday  of  Lent,  after  three  days  of  preliminary 
fasting  and  prayer,  the  choice  fell  upon  Michael.  There 
were  no  crimes  with  which  to  reproach  the  Romanov 
family,  and  this  dynasty  thus  had  its  origin  in  a  popular 
movement.  The  monarch  chosen  was  at  this  time  a  youth 
of  fifteen  years,  but  his  father  was  one  of  the  Church 
heads,  although  at  that  time  a  prisoner.  The  latter  acted 
as  adviser  and  practically  joint  sovereign  until  his 
death. 

When  the  first  of  the  Romanovs  came  to  the  throne 
many  of  the  cities  and  towns  were  in  ruins,  the  country 
laid  waste  and  the  people  impoverished.  Michael  was 
not  a  genius,  but  he  had  an  abundance  of  good  sense, 
and  his  father,  who  was  made  a  Patriarch,  was  a  man 
of  ability.  Poland  refused  to  recognize  the  validity  of 
the  new  election,  and  continued  to  harass  her  neighbour. 
Commissioners  were  sent  to  Holland  and  England  by 
the  new  Czar,  to  seek  help,  and  especially  money.  The 
Dutch  sent  a  thousand  guilders,  but  England  put  the 
commissioners  off  with  subtle  promises.  Peace  was  con¬ 
cluded  with  Sweden.  This  left  Russia’s  hands  unfet¬ 
tered  to  settle  her  disagreements  with  Poland.  A  tem¬ 
porary  truce  was  entered  into,  after  some  hostilities,  but 


334  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


both  sides  knew  it  was  simply  fugacious.  When  Sigis- 
mond  III,  of  Poland,  died,  Michael  declared  war  before 
the  new  king  was  elected.  Poland  was  at  this  time  an 
elective  monarchy.  The  result  was  not  flattering.  About 
all  that  Russia  gained  was  the  renunciation  by  the  new 
king,  Vladislas,  of  his  claim  to  the  throne  of  Russia. 
Western  influence  had  already  begun  to  have  its  effect 
in  Russia.  Under  Michael  more  foreigners  than  ever 
came  into  the  country,  and  various  industries  were 
started. 

Alexis  Michaelovitch  succeeded  his  father  in  1645. 
During  his  reign  the  ascendency  of  foreign  influence 
continued,  and  the  first  attempt  at  church  reforms  arose. 
Alexis  was  very  much  like  his  father,  good  and  easy¬ 
going.  He  was  easily  influenced  by  his  advisers.  A 
terrible  revolt  against  officials  occurred  in  Moscow,  and 
summary  vengeance  was  dealt  to  the  ringleaders.  Ow¬ 
ing  to  internal  troubles  in  Poland,  and  the  aggressive 
work  of  the  Jesuits,  the  Orthodox  population  of  Little 
Russia  turned  towards  the  Muscovite  for  protection. 
Ambassadors  were  dispatched  to  Moscow.  The  Czar 
gave  his  solemn  promise  to  respect  Ukrainian  liberties. 
War  was  declared  on  Poland,  and  many  cities  were  cap¬ 
tured.  The  Russians  had  considerable  trouble  with  their 
new  vassals,  however,  because  of  the  ambitions  of  their 
leaders.  The  result' of  this  war  was  that  all  of  Poland 
was  overrun  by  Swedes,  Russians  and  Cossacks,  and 
Russia  became  bankrupt,  retaining  only  a  part  of  Little 
Russia. 

Alexis  was  twice  married.  The  second  marriage  was 
romantic.  While  dining  at  the  home  of  a  friend,  he 
saw  a  young  girl  waiting  at  the  table,  who  was  a  niece 
of  the  host.  The  girl  had  become  motherless,  and  the 
host  acted  as  a  second  father.  “  I  have  found  a  husband 


Peter  the  Great 


335 


for  Natalie,”  the  Czar  said  to  this  friend  a  few  days 
later.  He  himself  was  the  husband.  Natalie  was  the 
first  Russian  princess  who  ever  threw  aside  the  curtains 
of  her  litter  and  permitted  the  people  to  look  upon  her 
face.  She  became  the  mother  of  Peter  the  Great.  At 
his  death  in  1676,  Alexis  left  behind  him  a  large  family. 
By  his  first  wife  he  had  two  sickly  sons,  Feodor  and  Ivan. 
The  two  families  made  just  as  many  factions  at  the 
court. 

Feodor  occupied  the  throne  for  three  years.  His  most 
noteworthy  act  was  the  burning  of  the  books  of  pedi¬ 
grees,  which  stopped  the  absurd  quarrels  among  aristo¬ 
cratic  officers  over  questions  of  precedence  in  the  army. 
These  quarrels  had  led  to  losses  of  important  battles. 
At  the  death  of  Feodor  the  question  of  his  successor 
became  acute.  Feodor  left  no  direct  heirs,  but  his  full 
brother  Ivan  and  several  sisters  survived  him.  Ivan  was 
notoriously  imbecile,  both  in  body  and  mind.  Peter,  the 
half-brother,  was  still  very  young.  One  of  Feodor’s 
sisters,  Sophia,  was  a  woman  of  great  energy  as  well 
as  considerable  ability.  She  began  to  plot  for  the  throne, 
and  her  energy  triumphed.  Ivan  and  Peter  were  de¬ 
clared  joint  emperors,  and  she  reigned  in  their  stead. 
A  double-seated  throne  was  used,  with  an  opening  in  the 
back,  in  which  she  sat.  It  was  a  case  of  two  visible 
rulers,  the  real  sovereign  being  invisible. 

For  several  years  this  singular  rule  continued.  Sophia 
met  the  men  of  her  court  freely  in  public,  carefully  se¬ 
lecting  those  who  might  pliantly  yield  themselves  to  her 
overreaching  designs.  Had  the  Russian  troops  not  met 
with  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  her  ambition  of 
becoming  the  crowned  sovereign  might  have  been  real¬ 
ized.  While  her  popularity  was  on  the  wane,  the  boy 
called  Peter  was  growing  and  developing.  He  chafed 


336  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


under  this  petticoat  thraldom,  and  commenced  to  give 
orders  to  Sophia.  His  precocious  faculties  and  ready 
intelligence  began  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  court¬ 
iers,  and  his  strong  will  gave  hopes  to  his  partisans. 
Peter  learned  a  little  Latin  and  German,  but  he  read 
much  outside  of  the  school  curriculum. 

To  a  great  extent  Peter  was  a  self-taught  man.  His 
tutelage  was  a  quick  and  strong  intelligence,  a  hungry 
desire  to  know,  and  a  hot,  imperious  temper.  He  like¬ 
wise  roamed  about  the  streets  and  gained  information 
there  which  did  not  add  to  his  habits  or  character.  He 
became  acquainted  with  many  adventurers  in  this  way, 
and  this  was  probably  the  beginning  of  his  wanderlust. 
As  a  boy  his  first  toys  were  drums  and  swords,  and  later 
he  organized  his  boy  companions  into  a  company  and 
drilled  them.  Submission  to  his  sister  could  not  last  for 
ever.  Sophia  saw  a  vision  of  the  inevitable.  She  and 
her  courtiers  planned  a  disturbance,  in  which  they  hoped 
Peter  would  perish.  Peter  was  warned,  and  he  succeeded 
in  escaping  to  the  Troitsa  Monastery,  where  he  took 
refuge.  Then  the  courtiers  began  to  range  themselves  by 
the  side  of  the  youth.  Sophia  entered  a  convent,  where 
she  remained  practically  a  captive,  until  her  death  seven¬ 
teen  years  later.  Ivan  continued  to  be  a  nominal  joint 
sovereign  until  his  death  a  few  years  afterwards.  But 
from  this  time,  in  1689,  Peter,  a  youth  of  only  seventeen, 
became  the  real  sovereign  of  Russia,  which  position  he 
held  for  thirty-six  years. 

Here  is  a  characteristic  letter  from  Peter,  written  to 
his  mother  at  this  time,  which  indicates  that  energy  was 
the  normal  state  of  Peter  the  boy,  as  well  as  Peter  the 
man : 

“  Your  little  boy,  Petrushka,  still  at  work.  I  ask  for 
your  blessing  and  wish  to  hear  how  you  are.  Thanks 


Peter  the  Great 


337 


to  your  prayers,  we  are  quite  well;  and  the  lake  thawed 
on  the  20th  of  this  month  (April,  1689)  and  all  the 
vessels  except  the  big  ships  are  ready.” 

From  early  life  the  sea  seemed  to  call  to  Peter.  The 
idea  of  the  necessity  of  better  water  communication  per¬ 
meated  him.  During  the  first  three  years  of  his  reign, 
he  made  two  trips  to  Archangel,  that  ice-bound  port  on 
the  White  Sea.  Up  to  this  time  nearly  all  Russian  com¬ 
merce  left  the  country  by  this  route,  and  a  line  of  post 
stations  had  been  established.  The  taste  for  salt  water 
never  forsook  him.  All  his  life  afterwards  we  find  him 
engaged  in  wars,  which  had  for  their  principal  purpose 
the  opening  of  ports  on  the  Baltic,  Black  and  Caspian 
Seas.  His  own  ship  was  the  first  to  carry  the  Russian 
flag  into  foreign  waters. 

What  to  do  first  in  his  great  scheme  was  the  question 
with  Peter.  Certain  treaties  with  Poland,  Austria,  and 
Sweden  made  operations  in  the  north  inadvisable.  Re¬ 
ligious  antagonism  and  common  sense  made  a  campaign 
against  the  Turk  most  promising.  Hence  war  was  de¬ 
clared.  A  fleet  was  built  on  the  Don  and  floated  down 
that  river.  Peter  himself  assisted  in  this  work.  Azov 
was  blockaded  by  sea  and  by  land.  Preparations  were 
made  for  a  general  assault,  when  the  place  suddenly 
capitulated.  The  joy  in  Russia  was  great,  but  Peter’s 
joy  was  greater.  He  had  won  a  victory  over  Islamism; 
he  had  secured  a  port  having  access  to  the  Black  Sea ; 
he  was  now  ready  to  make  a  journey  to  Western  Europe 
as  a  victor. 

A  great  deputation  of  nearly  three  hundred  persons, 
under  the  management  of  an  admiral  and  two  generals, 
departed  for  the  west.  This  delegation  included  nobles, 
merchants,  interpreters,  jesters,  and  buffoons.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  buffoonery  was  popular  in  the  Euro- 


338  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


pean  courts  of  this  period.  With  the  company  there  was 
also  a  young  man,  who  travelled  as  Peter  Mikhailov. 
This  latter  was  no  other  personage  than  the  inquisitive 
Peter.  The  embassy  was  too  slow  in  its  progress  for 
the  impatient  young  Czar,  so  he  hastened  to  Saardam. 
Here  he  took  lodging  with  a  blacksmith,  put  on  a  Dutch 
outfit,  and  began  to  work.  He  visited  various  factories, 
and  everywhere  tried  his  own  hand.  This  habit  never 
left  him,  and  in  later  years  his  hands  were  horny  and 
calloused  from  toil.  Peter  betook  himself  to  the  larger 
city  of  Amsterdam.  He  neither  rested  himself,  nor  did 
he  allow  others  to  rest.  The  mania  for  seeing  and  doing 
things  had  a  masterful  possession  of  him.  He  met  every 
one  from  official  to  workman  with  an  air  of  familiarity 
that  completely  captivated  the  Dutch. 

Peter  never  lost  sight  of  the  idea  of  making  Russia 
master  of  the  seas,  and  everywhere  investigated  the  art 
of  shipbuilding.  Some  of  his  remarks  that  are  handed 
down  to  us  are  characteristic  of  the  man.  During  a 
violent  storm  on  the  North  Sea  he  reassured  the  pas¬ 
sengers  by  saying:  “  Did  you  ever  hear  of  a  Czar  of 
Russia  who  was  drowned  in  the  North  Sea?  ” 

When  Peter  returned  to  Russia  he  attempted  many 
innovations.  It  is  little  wonder  that  violent  opposition 
was  aroused,  for  Peter  did  not  always  employ  diplomacy 
in  his  methods.  Furthermore,  Russia  was  noted  for  its 
conservatism,  and  the  old  customs  of  their  fathers  died 
hard.  He  decreed  the  abolition  of  the  long  beards  worn 
by  the  peasants,  and  they  were  angered.  Had  not  Ivan 
IV  said :  “  To  shave  is  a  sin  that  the  blood  of  martyrs 
could  not  cleanse.”  Peter  himself  applied  the  razor  to 
a  few  of  the  long-beards.  He  ordered  European  cos¬ 
tumes  in  his  court,  and  the  nobles  were  offended.  The 
women  were  urged  to  appear  in  public  with  faces  un- 


Peter  the  Great 


339 


veiled,  and  this  was  not  popular.  A  secret  service  was 
instituted  to  see  that  the  changes  were  adopted;  the 
knout  and  the  axe  were  the  accompaniment  of  every 
reforming  edict.  This  extraordinary  man  was  by  main 
force  dragging  a  sullen  and  angry  nation  into  the  path 
of  progress.  The  Holy  Synod  replaced  the  Patriarch, 
for  there  must  be  no  other  suns  shining  near  to  the  Great 
Sun  itself.  His  acceptance  of  the  reforms  of  Nikon 
aroused  the  Old  Ritualists.  Already  some  priests  were 
preaching  that  Antichrist  was  born.  No  previous  Czar, 
said  they,  had  ever  quit  Holy  Russia  to  wander  in  for¬ 
eign  lands,  among  Turks  and  Germans,  for  they  classed 
both  in  the  same  category.  How  else  could  they  explain 
such  impious  demeanour,  except  that  the  Czar  was  Satan 
himself  in  disguise  ?  He  had  even  “  numbered  the 
people  ”  by  taking  a  census  —  a  thing  expressly  for¬ 
bidden. 

The  increasingly  heavy  taxes  bore  grievously  on  both 
gentry  and  peasants.  Bloody  scenes  were  enacted  in 
many  places.  The  Strieltsi  - —  the  militia  —  and  some  of 
the  Cossacks  conspired  against  the  Czar.  Peter  acted 
with  characteristic  promptness.  The  Red  Square  in  the 
Kremlin  was  covered  with  gibbets,  and  many  homes  were 
soon  in  mourning.  Hundreds  were  executed  here  —  a 
thousand  in  eight  days,  it  is  said.  Some  were  broken 
on  the  wheel,  and  others  died  by  various  modes  of  tor¬ 
ture.  Writers  of  that:  period  say  that  the  highest  official 
in  the  Empire  himself  assisted  in  the  w“ork  of  slaughter. 
But  this  was  an  age  of  cruel  punishments,  not  only  in 
Russia,  but  the  other  nations  of.  Europe  as  well.  Break¬ 
ing  on  the  wheel  was  everywhere  common  at  that  time 
on  the  continent.  A  revolt  of  the  Cossacks  of  the  Don 
was  put  down  after  a  sanguinary  campaign.  The 
Ukraine  harboured  a  party  hostile  to  the  Czar,  and  this 


340 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


disaffection  was  attended  to.  The  result  was  that  Little 
Russia  lost  most  of  her  special  privileges,  and  became 
more  closely  united  to  the  Empire.  Within  a  few  years 
there  was  not  in  Russia  a  single  military  force  that  could 
oppose  its  strength  to  the  will  of  the  Czar. 

Peter  now  turned  his  attention  to  the  question  of  an 
outlet  on  the  Baltic.  In  this  way  only,  he  thought,  would 
Russia  cease  to  be  an  Oriental  state.  At  that  time  the 
Baltic  was  controlled  on  all  sides  by  Sweden.  Charles 
XII,  a  knight-errant  rather  than  a  sovereign,  was  her 
king.  His  great  ideal  was  Alexander  the  Great.  He 
likewise  nourished  the  spirit  of  the  old  sagas  and  vikings 
of  Scandinavia.  He  fought  not  for  kingdoms,  for  he 
distributed  these  with  a  lavish  hand,  but  for  glory  and 
honour.  He  dreamed  of  nothing  but  war.  He  posed 
as  the  protector  of  the  Protestants.  It  was  not  difficult 
to  find  a  pretext  for  war  with  this  war-lord,  who  was 
wandering  over  Northern  Europe  overturning  monar¬ 
chies. 

Peter  joined  the  King  of  Poland  in  war  against  Swe¬ 
den.  He  marched  against  Narva,  and  here,  on  the  30th 
of  November,  1700,  was  fought  a  great  battle.  The  re¬ 
sult  was  a  humiliating  defeat  for  the  Russians.  With 
an  army  that  outnumbered  the  Swedes  five  to  one,  the 
forces  of  Peter  were  obliged  to  retreat.  But  some  de¬ 
feats  are  probably  salutary,  as  well  as  some  victories  are 
fatal.  Peter  profited  by  this  check  to  his  ambitions;  it 
taught  him  that  he  knew  little  about  real  warfare.  The 
sacrifice  of  men  had  been  terrible,  but  the  lesson  was  not 
lost.  Peter  forfeited  the  frontier  towns,  such  as  Nov¬ 
gorod  and  Pskov.  From  church  bells  were  cast  three 
hundred  cannons.  New  regiments  were  created.  Sev¬ 
eral  small  victories  gave  him  possession  of  the  Neva. 
In  1705,  Peter  conducted  a  campaign  against  the  Baltic 


PETER  THE  GREAT 


Peter  the  G-reat 


341 


provinces  of  Esthonia  and  Livonia.  But  Charles  himself 
was  now  on  his  way  hither.  Poland  was  soon  humbled, 
and  then  Charles  saw  only  one  enemy  here  —  the  Czar 
of  Russia,  and  he  entered  Russian  territory. 

Peter  did  not  relish  the  prospect  of  war  with  such  a 
seasoned  army  as  the  Swedes.  He  tried  to  negotiate 
with  Charles,  saying  he  would  be  content  with  a  single 
port  on  the  Baltic.  Charles  haughtily  answered :  “  I 
will  treat  with  the  Czar  in  Moscow.”  The  two  armies 
finally  met  at  Poltava,  which  has  been  described  else¬ 
where.  Victory  followed,  and  Russia  became  an  estab¬ 
lished  power  in  Europe.  Sweden  the  mighty  had  been 
crushed:  Charles  was  in  exile.  The  Slav  made  a  tri¬ 
umphal  entry  upon  the  world’s  stage. 

The  results  of  this  war  were  that  Peter  completed 
the  conquest  of  Livonia  and  Esthonia,  and  a  part  of  Fin¬ 
land.  Riga,  Revel,  and  Viborg  were  captured.  Peter 
then  turned  his  attention  to  the  Turk,  who  was  threaten¬ 
ing  on  the  south,  and  this  was  an  extremely  unfortunate 
undertaking.  He  was  obliged  to  make  a  humiliating 
treaty,  and  yield  to  the  enemy  his  first  conquest,  Azov. 
This  was  probably  the  darkest  hour  in  Peter’s  career. 
In  1712  he  made  another  journey  to  Western  Europe, 
and  visited  France  with  the  hopes  of  forming  a  coalition 
with  that  country.  He  astonished  everybody,  as  on  his 
first  visit,  by  his  eagerness  to  see  and  learn,  his  freedom 
of  action,  and  a  certain  crudeness  in  manners.  But  his 
mission  was  not  an  unqualified  success,  and  he  returned 
home.  One  of  his  last  accomplishments  was  the  securing 
of  a  port  on  the  Caspian,  in  the  furtherance  of  his  plan 
to  make  Russia  the  centre  of  communication  between 
Europe  and  Asia.  Russian  merchants  had  been  robbed 
by  Persian  brigands,  and  Peter  took  this  as  a  pretext  for 
seizing  Derbend  and  Baku.  The  Czar  personally  led  the 


342  The  Russian  Empire  of  To -Day- 


expedition  down  the  Volga  from  Nijni  Novgorod,  in 
1722. 

Let  us  turn  for  a  moment  from  the  political  affairs 
of  Russia  to  the  home  life  of  Peter,  for  his  domestic  mis¬ 
fortunes  had  a  great  influence  on  this  monarch.  At  the 
early  age  of  seventeen  Peter  had  been  married  to  Eu- 
doxia,  the  daughter  of  a  conservative  Russian  noble.  As 
Peter’s  liberal  tendencies  developed,  he  gradually  be¬ 
came  estranged  from  his  wife  because  she  did  not  share 
his  ideas,  but  remained  under  the  influence  of  her  fam¬ 
ily.  She  even  became  an  object  of  intense  aversion.  He 
forced  her  to  leave  his  palace,  and  she  retired  to  a  mon¬ 
astery  in  Souzdal.  Later  he  divorced  her  in  order  to 
marry  a  peasant  girl,  Catherine,  with  whom  he  had 
formed  an  alliance.  In  this  seclusion  Eudoxia  managed 
to  maintain  a  sort  of  court,  around  which,  unknown  to 
Peter,  sedition  began  to  grow  up.  In  the  eyes  of  the 
clergy  and  many  of  the  people  Eudoxia  was  still  the  law¬ 
ful  wife,  and  she  was  the  mother  of  the  Czarevitch 
Alexis. 

Peter  endeavoured  to  give  his  son  a  liberal  education, 
but  his  long  absences  afforded  the  banished  wife  an  ad¬ 
vantage.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Peter  was  seldom  at  the 
palace  for  any  considerable  length  of  time.  She  poisoned 
the  youth’s  mind  against  the  father  and  his  policies.  He 
grew  up  to  be  a  lazy,  feeble  and  narrow-minded  man. 
Surrounded  by  monks  and  religious  devotees,  and  forced 
into  an  undesirable  marriage,  he  calmly  awaited  his 
father’s  death,  which  he  earnestly  hoped  would  be  soon. 
Many  of  the  high  clergy  likewise  prayed  that  the  end 
might  not  be  distant.  Alexis  had  promised  on  his  ac¬ 
cession  to  restore  the  picturesque  old  barbarism,  and 
scatter  to  the  winds  all  the  innovations  of  his  father’s 
reign.  When  Peter  learned  how  things  were  going, 


Peter  the  Great 


343 


Eudoxia  was  flogged  and  placed  in  stricter  confinement 
and  Alexis  was  taken  to  task. 

“  You  despise  all  that  can  make  you  worthy  to  reign 
after  me,”  Peter  said.  “  If  you  do  not  alter  your  con¬ 
duct,  know  that  I  shall  deprive  you  of  my  succession. 
I  have  not  spared  my  own  life  for  my  country  and  my 
people ;  do  you  think  that  I  shall  spare  yours  ?  ”  Alexis 
pleaded  ill  health,  and  said  he  wanted  to  become  a  monk. 
He  fled  to  Germany  with  his  mistress,  but  Peter’s  emis¬ 
saries  found  him  and  brought  him  back.  He  was  obliged 
to  sign  a  formal  renunciation  of  the  succession.  He  was 
forced  to  reveal  his  accomplices.  Peter  then  learned 
that  his  son  was  the  centre  of  a  gigantic  conspiracy 
against  his  reforms.  He  discovered  that  Alexis  had 
intrigued  with  Sweden,  had  sought  aid  from  Austria, 
and  had  prayed  for  his  father’s  death. 

As  a  result  of  the  disclosures  of  Alexis,  several  of 
the  conspirators  were  cruelly  executed.  This  seemed  to 
arouse  the  latent  beast  in  Peter.  A  tribunal  sentenced 
Alexis  to  death.  Two  days  later  his  death  was  publicly 
proclaimed.  Many  reports  of  the  manner  of  his  death 
were  circulated.  The  lips  of  the  nine  men  who  com¬ 
posed  the  tribunal  were  for  ever  sealed.  The  best  ex¬ 
planation  is  that  he  died  under  the  knout,  as  a  result  of 
torture  applied  in  order  to  wring  fresh  confessions  from 
him. 

Peter’s  associations  with  Catherine  began  as  early  as 
1702.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  Livonian  serf.  The 
Czar  was  attracted  by  her  vivacity  of  mind  and  general 
cleverness,  even  though  she  had  already  been  the  mis¬ 
tress  of  some  of  the  court  favourites.  Their  marriage 
was  first  consummated  secretly,  but,  in  1712,  they  were 
solemnly  married,  and  she  was  crowned  as  Empress. 
In  1721  Peter  promulgated  an  edict  that  the  sovereign 


344  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


could  name  his  own  successor.  By  Catherine  two  daugh¬ 
ters  survived,  Anna  and  Elizabeth.  Alexis  also  left  a 
son,  who  afterward  became  Peter  II.  Peter  in  later  years 
thought  his  wife  was  unfaithful  and  this  embittered  him. 
His  ceaseless  toil  and  early  dissipation  had  enfeebled  his 
system.  Throughout  his  whole  life  he  had  been  an  ex¬ 
cessive  drinker  of  intoxicants.  In  order  to  save  a  boat 
in  distress  he  plunged  in  the  icy  waters  of  the  Neva,  and 
a  congestion  followed.  Pie  died  without  being  able 
either  to  write  or  speak  his  last  wishes,  at  the  early  age 
of  fifty-three.  Thus  passed  from  earthly  scenes  the  man, 
the  absolute  autocrat,  who  bent  men,  nature  and  every¬ 
thing  else  to  his  will. 

Peter’s  life  was  a  fever  of  incessant  activity.  Through 
all  the  years  he  disdained  pomp,  luxury,  and  every  kind 
of  display.  His  career  was  a  continual  struggle  with 
tradition,  ignorance,  fanaticism  and  barbarism.  The  ma¬ 
jority  of  his  subjects  neither  understood  his  aims  nor 
sympathized  with  them.  He  attacked  with  fury  many 
deeply  rooted  abuses.  One  corrupt  governor  was  con¬ 
demned  to  be  torn  to  pieces  by  pigs.  Another  he  beat 
severely  with  his  own  hands.  He  encouraged  education, 
and  established  many  schools.  He  fostered  literature, 
and  reformed  the  Russian  alphabet.  He  tried  to  intro¬ 
duce  Western  forms  of  government,  and  succeeded  as 
well  as  could  be  expected.  But  it  was  too  great  a  task 
for  one  man.  Many  of  the  institutions  were  only  half 
digested,  and  could  not  be  successfully  engrafted  upon 
an  unwilling  people.  Even  little  things  were  not  over¬ 
looked.  He  published  an  edict  compelling  the  peasants 
to  reap  their  wheat  with  scythes  instead  of  the  old  hooks. 
He  required  every  town  to  send  a  certain  number  of 
shoemakers  to  Moscow  to  take  lessons  in  that  art. 

What  Peter  did  accomplish  was  marvellous,  and  it 


Peter  the  Great 


345 


seems  almost  impossible  that  it  could  be  the  plan  and 
work  of  a  single  individual.  One  might  say  of  him,  as 
did  a  contemporary  woman,  that  he  was  a  very  good 
and  a  very  bad  man.  Of  one  thing  there  can  be  no  ques¬ 
tion,  however,  and  that  is  he  was  a  very  great  man. 
He  found  Russia  three  hundred  years  behindhand,  and 
he  brought  her  forward  at  least  two  centuries. 


CHAPTER  XX 


THE  EMPRESSES 

Catherine  I  —  Peter  II — The  Two  Annes  —  Uncrowned  Ivan  VI  —  Eliza¬ 
beth  —  Peter  III  —  Catherine  the  Great  —  Denationalization  of  Po¬ 
land  —  Wars  with  Turkey  —  Reforms  of  Catherine. 

One  of  the  greatest  objections  to  even  the  wisest  and 
most  beneficent  despotism  is  that  the  autocrat  is  mortal. 
The  span  of  life  is  too  short  for  the  magnificent  designs 
of  a  Peter  the  Great,  and  the  good  accomplished  is  likely 
to  be  overthrown  if  the  succession  falls  into  incompetent 
hands.  Following  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great,  there 
comes  in  close  succession  a  number  of  changes  in  the 
autocracy.  Among  these  five  empresses  take  the  prin¬ 
cipal  place. 

“  Give  everything  to  - ,”  Peter  started  to  write  on 

his  death-bed,  but  the  grim  reaper  took  the  pen  from  his 
hand.  This  absence  of  specific  direction  as  to  his  suc¬ 
cessor  gave  occasion  for  considerable  disturbance.  There 
were  two  branches  of  the  Imperial  family  extant,  and 
as  many  parties  arose  in  the  court.  One  of  these  fac¬ 
tions  wanted  to  place  upon  the  throne  the  grandson  of 
Peter,  the  son  of  the  unfortunate  Alexis,  who  was  then 
a  youth  of  twelve  years  of  age;  the  other  desired  to  give 
the  throne  to  Catherine,  the  second  wife  of  Peter.  The 
strongest  party,  however,  was  that  which  had  been  raised 
to  power  by  Peter.  Many  of  its  members  were  more 
or  less  involved  in  the  trial  and  subsequent  death  of 

346 


The  Empresses 


347 


Alexis,  and  they  felt  that  their  only  personal  salvation 
lay  in  Catherine. 

Peter’s  followers  prevailed,  so  that  Catherine,  the 
daughter  of  a  serf,  the  second  wife  of  Peter,  and  by  many 
not  considered  to  be  his  legal  wife  at  all,  was  proclaimed 
Empress;  the  party  supporting  her  claiming  that  this 
was  the  proper  succession,  because  she  had  already  been 
crowned.  The  reign  of  Catherine  lasted  but  two  years, 
and,  on  the  whole,  it  was  harmless.  During  that  time 
she  attempted  to  carry  out  the  policies  of  her  deceased 
husband.  Catherine  proved  herself  to  be,  in  spite  of  her 
ignorance,  a  woman  of  considerable  force  of  character 
and  strength,  and  managed  to  govern  the  nobles  in  her 
court  quite  well.  The  troubles  of  the  empresses,  which 
all  of  them  experienced  in  a  marked  degree,  were  gen¬ 
erally  due  to  the  intrigues  of  those  around  the  court, 
some  of  whom  were  favourites  and  others  wanted  to  be. 

Upon  her  death-bed,  Catherine  nominated  Peter  Alex- 
ievitch,  the  grandson  of  Peter,  as  her  successor.  The 
youth  was  crowned  with  the  title  of  Peter  II.  One  Men- 
chikov,  who  had  been  the  favourite  of  Catherine,  took 
it  upon  himself  to  direct  the  course  of  the  new  Emperor. 
He  attempted  to  control  all  of  his  actions  with  a  high 
hand,  and  to  make  his  own  daughter  the  wife  of  the 
sovereign.  Before  this  ambitious  scheme  was  consum¬ 
mated,  Peter  II  shook  off  the  shackles  of  Menchikov, 
and  attempted  to  perform  the  acts  devolving  upon  him 
without  any  dictation.  Menchikov  was  arrested,  de¬ 
spoiled  of  all  his  dignities,  and  banished  from  the  court. 
No  events  of  any  great  importance  happened  during 
the  reign  of  Peter  II,  as  there  were  no  foreign  wars. 
The  young  Emperor  suddenly  expired  at  the  end  of  a 
short  reign  of  only  three  years,  when  he  was  still  but 
seventeen  years  of  age. 


348  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Following  Peter  II  comes  the  reign  of  two  Annes  — 
Anne  Ivanovna  and  Anne  Leopoldovna.  The  unex¬ 
pected  death  of  Peter  II  had  taken  the  court  by  surprise, 
so  that  there  was  no  faction  ready  with  definite  plans 
for  the  succession.  Although  there  was  still  a  daughter 
of  Peter  eligible  to  the  throne,  named  Elizabeth,  who 
was,  at  that  time,  just  coming  into  young  womanhood, 
the  choice  fell  upon  Anne  Ivanovna,  the  daughter  of  that 
Ivan  who  had  jointly  ruled  with  Peter  the  Great.  A 
party  powerful  at  court  chose  her  because,  since  she  was 
so  far  removed  from  the  succession  that  she  could  have 
no  hopes  of  ever  becoming  empress,  they  thought  that 
they  could  bend  her  to  their  will.  With  this  purpose  in 
mind,  these  would-be  oligarchs  drew  up  a  statement  for 
her  to  subscribe,  limiting  the  power  of  the  occupant  of 
the  throne;  and  this  she  was  very  willing  to  sign.  It 
was  an  attempt  to  undo  the  work  of  the  Ivans  and  Ro¬ 
manovs,  and  to  place  the  real  power  once  more  in  the 
hands  of  the  ruling  families. 

As  is  usually  the  case,  however,  those  powerful  with 
the  throne  have  also  enemies ;  and  so  it  was  with  this 
band  of  eight  men.  Their  enemies  managed  to  secure 
the  support  of  the  clergy,  and  presented  a  request  to  Anne 
that  she  should  reign  as  an  autocrat  the  same  as  her 
predecessors.  This  naturally  was  pleasing  to  her  vanity, 
and,  as  soon  as  she  was  convinced  that  such  a  step  was 
possible,  she  dismissed  these  advisers.  They  were  first 
banished,  and  afterwards  either  imprisoned  or  executed. 
Anne  declared  herself  an  autocrat  like  her  predecessors. 
At  this  time  she  was  a  woman  of  about  thirty-five  years 
of  age,  taller  than  most  of  the  men  in  her  court,  with 
a  man’s  voice,  and  a  countenance  that  was  anything  but 
pleasing.  She  had  evidently  been  embittered  by  her  early 
life,  and  resolved  to  make  up  in  indulgence  for  the  lost 


The  Empresses 


349 


years.  Her  cruelty  was  shown  by  the  thousands  of  exe¬ 
cutions  and  banishments  of  the  upper  classes,  and  a  mer¬ 
ciless  collection  of  all  the  arrears  of  taxes.  Her  coarse¬ 
ness  was  revealed  by  the  fact  that  she  surrounded  the 
throne  with  common  jesters,  and  amused  herself  with 
low  buffoonery.  She  copied  German  manners,  and  sur¬ 
rounded  herself  with  German  influences,  but  with  all  of 
this  there  was  a  mixture  of  semi-barbarism. 

Wars  with  Poland  over  the  succession  to  that  throne, 
and  with  Turkey  over  the  Crimea,  occurred  during  her 
reign,  and  caused  a  great  deal  of  hardship  upon  the  Rus¬ 
sian  people,  already  impoverished.  The  war  with  the 
Turks  alone  cost,  so  it  is  estimated,  one  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  men.  For  eleven  years  she  occupied  the  throne, 
and  her  reign  was  ended  only  by  her  death  in  1741. 
Anne’s  infatuation  for  Gustav  Biron  had  made  him  the 
ruling  spirit  during  her  occupancy  of  the  throne. 

To  succeed  Anne,  there  was  left  a  baby  only  three 
months  old,  who  was  known  as  Ivan  VI.  Anne  had 
nominated  Biron  to  act  as  regent  during  the  minority 
of  this  child.  This  prospect  was  exceedingly  unpopular 
with  the  Russians,  because  it  meant  a  very  long  regency 
and  continued  German  influence,  which  had  already 
grown  distasteful.  In  addition  to  this  regent,  who  was 
not  of  royal  blood,  there  was  Anne  Leopoldovna,  of 
Mecklenburg,  who  was  of  the  royal  line,  and  also  acted 
as  joint  regent.  Biron  was  seized  and  sent  to  Siberia, 
which  left  Anne  as  the  empress.  She  was  different,  how¬ 
ever,  from  the  other  Anne,  as  she  was  so  indolent  that 
she  would  not  even  take  the  trouble  to  be  dressed  very 
frequently,  but  would  simply  lie  on  the  couch  all  day, 
so  that  her  brief  reign  was  comparatively  uneventful. 

A  strong  party  had  now  arisen  who  favoured  Eliza¬ 
beth,  the  daughter  of  Peter  the  Great.  At  this  time  she 


350 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


was  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  pretty,  quick-witted,  pop¬ 
ular,  and  democratic  in  her  manner.  She  led  a  success¬ 
ful  revolution,  and  was  crowned  at  Moscow  as  the  Em¬ 
press.  In  the  dead  of  night  the  unfortunate  Anne  and 
her  husband  were  awakened,  carried  into  exile,  and  their 
infant  son  immured  in  a  prison.  By  this  change  the 
crown  was  brought  back  again  to  the  direct  line  of  Peter, 
who  had  built  up  and  united  the  Empire.  It  secured  for 
her  the  support  of  those  who  had  been  the  partisans  of 
Peter  the  Great.  The  change  was  also  a  reaction  against 
foreign  influences,  which  had  been  so  prominent  for  a 
number  of  years. 

Elizabeth  had  a  great  many  of  the  characteristics  of 
her  father,  and  was  inclined  to  be  liberal  in  her  ideas  of 
government.  She  was  likewise  a  vain  voluptuary.  Al¬ 
though  her  character  was  so  dissolute,  yet  she  was  very 
much  under  the  influence  of  the  priests,  and  Orthodoxy 
grew  under  her  reign.  A  repression  of  the  religious 
edifices  of  the  Armenians,  Mohammedans,  and  Jews  was 
begun,  and  this  was  in  the  nature  of  a  reaction  against 
the  more  liberal  policies  of  her  father.  She  was  very 
fond  of  the  theatre,  and  used  to  compel  attendance  at 
entertainments  which  she  provided. 

One  of  the  chief  features  of  this  reign  was  the  re¬ 
establishment  of  French  influence  at  the  Russian  court, 
and  this  influence,  during  her  reign  and  that  of  her  suc¬ 
cessor,  Catherine  II,  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  t'he 
developments  of  the  next  half-century.  Elizabeth  in¬ 
creased  the  material  prosperity  of  the  country  in  every 
way  possible,  reformed  some  features  of  legislation,  and 
founded  new  towns.  A  war  was  begun  with  Frederick 
II  of  Prussia,  which  resulted  in  great  losses,  but  was 
not  yet  ended  at  the  time  of  her  death  in  1762. 

The  successor  of  Elizabeth  was  her  nephew,  the  son 


The  Empresses 


351 


of  Anne  Petrovna,  another  daughter  of  Peter  the  Great. 
Without  special  education,  and  devoid  of  the  training 
which  was  befitting  this  exalted  position,  Peter  III  did 
not  come  to  the  throne  equipped  for  the  work;  neither 
did  he  have  a  strong  following  to  support  him.  He  was 
known  to  be  a  great  admirer  of  Frederick  II,  and  this 
meant  a  return  of  German  influence.  He  made  peace 
with  Frederick,  and  restored  to  him  some  of  the  con¬ 
quests  which  had  already  been  made.  Peter  issued  a 
manifesto  which  freed  the  nobility  from  the  requirement 
of  service  at  court.  This  made  him  so  popular  for  a 
time  that  they  wanted  to  erect  a  statue  of  gold  in  his 
honour.  Panegyrics  were  short-lived,  however,  for  his 
conduct  was  execrable.  He  is,  perhaps,  the  most  dis¬ 
agreeable  figure  in  Russian  history.  He  used  no  policy 
toward  any  class  of  people,  and  lost  no  time  in  making 
himself  disagreeable.  He  plundered  the  clergy,  and 
showed  his  contempt  for  the  Orthodox  religion  which 
he  had  been  compelled  to  accept ;  he  attempted  to  in¬ 
troduce  German  styles  of  dress  in  court,  and  in  many 
other  ways  made  himself  unbearable. 

Had  Peter’s  wife  been  an  ordinary  woman,  the  end 
might  not  have  come  so  soon;  but  it  so  happened  that 
his  consort  was  a  woman  of  extraordinary  strength  of 
character,  and  knew  how  to  look  after  her  own  interests. 
She  was  a  German  princess,  Fredericka  of  Anhalt- 
Zerbst.  On  her  admission  into  the  Orthodox  Church, 
she  had  taken  the  name  of  Catherine.  Peter  at  one  time 
wanted  to  divorce  her  and  marry  another  favourite  of 
his,  and  had  actually  made  plans  to  get  rid  of  her.  For¬ 
tunately  for  Catherine  these  plans  came  to  her  knowl¬ 
edge,  and  she  made  her  counterplots.  Her  plans  were 
carefully  laid  and  then  swiftly  executed.  Those  discon¬ 
tented  with  Peter  III  rallied  to  Catherine,  though  she 


352  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


was  an  alien,  not  of  royal  birth,  and  had  no  claim  to  the 
throne,  and  secretly  pledged  their  support  to  her,  as  the 
only  feasible  plan  that  suggested  itself  to  get  rid  of  the 
Emperor.  She  left  the  palace  in  which  they  were  liv¬ 
ing,  placed  herself  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  twenty  thou¬ 
sand  troops,  and  was  hailed  as  the  Empress.  Not  a 
drop  of  blood  was  shed  in  this  peaceful  revolution. 

Peter  was  at  first  indignant  at  this  coup  d’etat,  but 
finally  yielded  and  was  placed  in  confinement  in  the 
Palace  of  Ropsha.  At  the  end  of  four  days  he  ceased 
to  live,  having  died,  as  it  was  reported,  from  “  a  colic 
to  which  he  was  subject.”  There  is  no  evidence  that  his 
wife  was  in  any  way  implicated  in  Peter’s  death.  A 
German  writer  claims  to  have  unearthed  a  Jetter,  which 
shows  that  a  court  noble  confessed  to  having  killed  him 
accidentally  while  trying  to  separate  the  deposed  Czar 
and  another  noble  in  an  altercation.  Ivan  VI  had  at 
this  time  reached  his  legal  majority,  but  his  whole  life 
had  been  spent  in  prison  and  he  was  insane.  He  lost  his 
life  during  an  effort  made  to  liberate  him.  This  left 
Catherine  the  master  of  the  situation.  She  was  officially 
crowned  as  Empress,  and  ruled  Russia  for  the  next  third 
of  a  century.  This  ended  the  strange  sequence  of  events 
that  followed  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  the  Ro¬ 
manov  dynasty  has  since  securely  held  the  throne  in  reg¬ 
ular  succession. 

The  rule  of  Catherine  began  one  of  the  strongest 
periods  in  Russian  history,  equalling  in  many  ways  that 
of  Peter  the  Great.  For  thirty-seven  years  there  had 
been  a  succession  of  palace  intrigues  and  court  revolu¬ 
tions,  with  six  changes  in  the  autocracy,  and  progress  had 
been  made  only  by  fits  and  starts.  Catherine  prudently 
inaugurated  her  reign  by  a  manifesto  condemning  Fred¬ 
erick  II,  thus  pleasing  the  people  by  her  anti-German 


CATHERINE  THE  GREAT 


I 


The  Empresses 


353 


sentiments.  In  this,  as  well  as  in  many  of  the  other 
events  of  her  reign,  she  showed  the  practical  common 
sense  of  the  wise  statesman,  without  lessening  the  auto¬ 
cratic  power  which  she  was  allowed  under  the  Russian 
system  of  government.  Endowed  with  none  of  the  vir¬ 
tues  which  we  usually  admire  in  womanhood,  yet  she 
seemed  to  possess  those  stronger  characteristics,  and  a 
wise  foresight,  which  are  so  necessary  in  a  ruler.  The 
history  of  the  intrigues  of  her  court,  and  her  own  love 
affairs  with  various  courtiers,  has  been  written,  and,  with¬ 
out  padding  or  stretching,  fills  a  goodly  sized  volume. 

Wars  and  rumours  of  wars  filled  a  great  part  of  Cath¬ 
erine’s  reign.  There  were  two  wars  with  Turkey  and 
as  many  more  with  Poland,  the  throne  of  which  at  that 
time  was  tottering.  Catherine  soon  got  over  her  antip¬ 
athy  to  Frederick  II,  if  at  any  time  it  was  real,  and  the 
two  began  to  plot  for  the  dismemberment  of  Poland. 
Prussia  was  the  most  aggressive  in  this  matter,  because 
the  Polish  possessions  separated  Eastern  Prussia  from 
Western  Prussia.  From  the  moment  the  Russian  and 
Prussian  alliance  was  signed  by  the  two  sovereigns,  the 
fate  of  Poland  was  sealed.  Catherine  was  at  all  times 
anxious  to  add  to  Russian  territory,  and  this  land  of 
perpetual  turmoil  furnished  an  opportunity.  Poland  at 
this  time  was  in  a  wretched  condition.  The  aristocracy 
were  so  jealous  of  each  other  that  they  always  elected 
foreigners  as  their  rulers.  The  defeated  faction  would 
almost  invariably  appeal  to  some  other  power  for  help, 
and  this  made  these  nations  feel  free  to  interfere  in  her 
affairs.  The  peasants  were  simply  pawns  at  the  will  of 
their  lords. 

The  death  of  the  King  of  Poland  furnished  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  desired  by  the  two  sovereigns,  who  likewise  fa¬ 
voured  the  same  candidate  for  the  throne  thus  made 


354  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


vacant.  The  pretended  pretext  was  the  harsh  treatment 
of  the  non-Catholics  in  Poland.  Frederick  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  Protestants  in  Poland,  and  Catherine  the 
Orthodox  population  dwelling  in  Polish  territory.  There 
can  be  no  question  that  the  Catholic  party  in  Poland  was 
very  severe  in  its  treatment  of  those  not  adherents  of 
that  faith,  but  the  two  sovereigns  were  actuated  more 
by  the  chance  of  territorial  aggrandizement  than  piety. 
Virtue  was  never  the  object  of  the  policy  of  the  monarchs 
of  this  age,  but  simply  a  means  for  the  success  of  some 
political  scheme. 

“  Do  not  talk  to  me  of  magnanimity,”  said  Frederick, 
“  a  prince  can  only  study  his  interest.”  “  What  political 
advantages  will  accrue  to  Russia,”  asked  Catherine,  “  if 
I  take  the  part  of  the  Greek  Orthodox  believers  in  Po¬ 
land?”  The  answer  was  “rich  territory  and  a  large 
population.” 

The  candidate  backed  by  Frederick  and  Catherine  was 
elected  king  of  Poland.  This  man  was  Poniatovski,  one 
of  the  many  lovers  of  Catherine.  Certain  reforms  were 
actually  introduced  into  the  decadent  kingdom.  A  treaty 
was  made  with  Russia,  in  which  it  was  agreed  that  no 
changes  in  the  constitution  could  be  made  without  the 
consent  of  Russia.  It  was  not  long,  however,  until  a 
chance  came  to  claim  that  this  was  violated,  and  war 
followed.  As  a  result  of  this  war  occurred  the  first  par¬ 
tition  of  Poland,  in  which  Austria,  Prussia  and  Russia 
shared.  This  was  in  1772.  Although  Poland,  under  her 
new  king,  proceeded  along  the  line  of  reform,  and  did 
many  things  for  the  betterment  of  the  people,  including 
a  considerable  degree  of  religious  toleration,  Prussia  was 
not  yet  satisfied.  The  Empress  Maria  Theresa  of  Aus¬ 
tria  was  easily  drawn  into  the  scheme.  It  was  not  diffi¬ 
cult  to  persuade  Catherine  into  another  contest  with  Po- 


The  Empresses 


355 


land,  because  of  the  possible  fruits  of  such  an  action. 
War  was  again  declared,  the  Russian  troops  invaded 
Poland,  and  a  second  partition  of  that  kingdom  followed 
in  1793,  in  which  Russia  received  her  full  share. 

The  three  powers  bargained  over  Poland  like  a  mer¬ 
chant  over  a  bale  of  goods.  Russia,  the  originator  of 
the  scheme,  received  by  far  the  largest  share,  and  Ger¬ 
many  the  smallest.  All  of  this  was  done  with  a  religious 
solemnity  in  the  name  of  the  indivisible  Trinity.  The 
little  balance  was  bestowed  upon  the  wretched  king  Stan¬ 
islaus,  under  the  name  of  the  Republic  of  Poland,  and 
with  laws  imposed  by  these  powers.  These  laws  were 
such  that  anarchy  was  almost  sure  to  follow.  Each 
noble  had  the  power  to  annihilate  the  decision  of  the  Diet 
by  his  single  vote. 

The  first  war  with  Turkey  occurred  in  1767,  as  a  result 
of  French  intrigue  as  much  as  anything.  There  were 
constant  sources  of  friction  between  Turkey  and  Russia; 
because  of  the  Crimea,  over  which  Turkey  claimed  sov¬ 
ereignty;  because  of  the  complaints  of  members  of  the 
Orthodox  Church  residing  within  Turkish  territory;  and 
the  natural  longing  of  Russians  for  the  old  seat  of  the 
Byzantine  Empire  on  the  Bosphorus.  Several  sangui¬ 
nary  engagements  were  fought  between  the  opposing 
forces,  generally  with  vast  odds  on  the  side  of  the  Turks, 
but  nearly  all  of  them  were  victories  for  the  Russian  arms. 
Catherine  sent  her  Baltic  fleet  around  to  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean,  which  was  the  first  time  that  such  a  thing  had 
ever  been  attempted.  It  took  the  Turks  by  surprise,  and 
assisted  very  much  in  the  final  outcome.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  jealousy  of  Austria  at  this  time,  Russia  would 
have  reaped  greater  rewards  in  the  final  treaty.  In  the 
treaty  Russia  did  not  add  very  much  territory  to  her 
national  domains,  but  she  did  secure  certain  privileges 


356 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


for  her  shipping  in  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  right  to  act 
as  the  protector  to  the  Christian  population  of  Turkey. 

The  second  war  with  Turkey  began  in  1787,  and  was 
jointly  fathered  by  Russia  and  Austria.  The  avowed 
purpose  was  to  establish  an  independent  nation  between 
their  borders  and  those  of  Turkey,  if  they  did  not  succeed 
in  disintegrating  the  Turkish  Empire  in  its  entirety. 
Fearing  for  his  own  safety  the  Porte  declared  war 
against  Russia  before  the  latter  was  really  prepared  to 
begin  operations.  Catherine  was  more  courageous  than 
her  generals,  who  were  afraid  to  undertake  the  campaign. 
The  death  of  the  sovereign  of  Austria  caused  that  coun¬ 
try  to  withdraw  from  the  campaign  against  the  Turks, 
and  Catherine,  having  serious  trouble  with  Poland  on 
her  hands,  concluded  a  treaty  with  Turkey  in  which  there 
was  slight  gain  for  Russia. 

These  are  the  principal  foreign  complications  during 
the  long  reign  of  Catherine.  The  jealous  nations  of 
Europe  soon  learned  that  a  strong  hand  was  in  control 
of  Russia,  even  if  it  was  the  hand  of  a  woman.  Outside 
complications  did  not  prevent  many  internal  improve¬ 
ments.  Catherine  had  the  faculty  of  surrounding  herself 
with  strong  and  distinguished  fellow-workers.  She  as¬ 
sembled  a  commission,  which  was  chosen  from  all  classes 
throughout  the  entire  Empire,  with  instructions  to  for¬ 
mulate  a  code.  Six  hundred  and  fifty-two  deputies  were 
members  of  this  commission,  comprising  officials,  nobles, 
and  peasants;  and  including  Tartars,  Lapps,  Kalmucks, 
Samoyedes,  and  others.  The  assembly  nominated  many 
committees,  discussed  almost  every  possible  question,  and 
held  more  than  two  hundred  sittings.  The  Empress 
finally  dissolved  the  body;  but  during  their  discussions 
she  learned  many  of  the  things  in  which  the  people  were 
interested,  which  she  afterwards  used  to  good  purpose. 


The  Empresses 


357 


“  I  know  now  what  is  necessary,”  Catherine  said,  “  and 
with  what  I  should  occupy  myself.”  She  suppressed,  so 
far  as  possible,  the  corruption  which  was  such  a  common 
feature  of  official  life;  she  modified  the  original  terri¬ 
torial  divisions,  making  fifty  governments  instead  of  fif¬ 
teen,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  administration;  she 
changed  the  judicial  system,  and  gave  special  privileges 
to  the  merchants  and  citizens  of  the  towns,  which  in¬ 
cluded  the  election  of  their  magistrates ;  she  greatly 
extended  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  country.  One 
of  the  greatest  reforms  was  the  secularization  of  the 
church  property,  which  even  Peter  the  Great  had  been 
afraid  to  attempt,  as  the  people  were  not  then  ready  for 
it.  She  brought  in  thousands  of  German  colonists  to 
inherit  the  fertile  lands  of  the  Volga  and  Ukraine. 

Catherine  attempted  to  extend  education,  especially  in 
the  upper  and  middle  classes.  She  herself  had  consider¬ 
able  literary  talent,  writing  both  books  and  plays.  She 
kept  up  a  correspondence  with  Voltaire,  which  lasted  for 
fifteen  years.  In  every  way  the  French  influence  was 
extended,  not  only  in  politics  but  in  letters,  and  the  trans¬ 
lation  of  French  books,  especially  those  upon  philosophy, 
into  Russian,  became  very  popular.  At  heart  and  in  her 
philosophizing,  Catherine  seemed  almost  republican  and 
essentially  democratic.  And  yet  no  ruler  of  Russia  ever 
did  more  to  extend  and  solidify  the  autocratic  principle 
of  government. 

Catherine  followed  all  events  in  Paris  with  interest, 
especially  during  the  revolution.  The  developments  of 
that  revolution  caused  a  reaction  in  her  own  mind  and 
a  revulsion  in  her  political  theories,  which  made  her  less 
liberal.  She  indulged  in  no  more  abstractions  about 
human  rights,  and  had  an  antipathy  to  the  new  principles 
dominant  in  France.  A  holocaust  was  made  of  much  of 


358  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


the  literature  she  had  once  thought  entertaining.  She 
began  to  exercise  a  censorship  on  people  and  literature. 
Russians  suspected  of  liberal  tendencies  were  arrested 
on  the  slightest  pretext  and  sent  to  Siberia.  She  wanted 
to  unite  other  monarchs  in  a  crusade  against  this  pesti¬ 
lential  democracy.  She  was  afraid  that  the  liberal  doc¬ 
trines  of  France  might  permeate  her  own  Empire.  Thus 
it  was  that  she  busied  herself  until  the  day  of  her  death, 
on  the  17th  of  November,  1796,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven. 

After  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great,  the  reign  of  Cath¬ 
erine  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  in  Russian  history.  In 
many  respects  it  is  the  richest  and  fullest  of  all.  No 
sovereign  since  the  time  of  Ivan  the  Terrible,  not  even 
including  Peter,  had  extended  the  frontiers  of  Russia 
by  such  vast  conquests.  Its  western  and  southern  fron¬ 
tiers  now  reached  to  the  limits  which  they  once  occupied 
under  the  earlier  Grand  Princes.  She  effected  vast  re¬ 
forms.  For  political  insight,  breadth  of  statesmanship, 
and  grasp  of  the  complicated  problem  of  her  Empire, 
Catherine  is  truly  entitled  to  be  called  the  Great. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


FIRST  HALF  OF  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 


Paul  I  —  Alexander  I  —  Meetings  with  Napoleon  —  Grand  Army  —  Vilna 
— Retreat  from  Moscow— Capture  of  Paris — Change  in  Alexander — 
Nicholas  I  —  A  Real  Autocrat  —  Polish  Insurrection — Crimean  War 
—  A  Disillusioned  Czar. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth .  century  Russia 
stood  out  in  bold  relief  from  the  rest  of  Europe.  Her 
roots  were  still  planted  in  the  Orient,  but  there  had  been 
a  more  or  less  steady  march  towards  civilization  since  the 
time  of  Peter  the  Great.  At  that  time  Russia  had  a  pop¬ 
ulation  of  about  fifty  millions,  bound  together  by  a  com¬ 
mon  religion,  language  and  tradition.  The  western  gov¬ 
ernments,  it  is  true,  were  inhabited  by  Poles,  whose 
chequered  history  proves  that  the  ties  of  kinship  are  less 
tenacious  than  those  of  civilization  and  religion.  By¬ 
zantium  had  given  both  to  Russia,  while  Polish  ideals 
were  derived  from  Rome.  The  urban  population  did 
not  exceed  five  per  cent,  of  the  whole,  for  St.  Petersburg 
in  1820  had  but  three  hundred  thousand  citizens,  and 
Moscow  was  considerably  smaller.  The  other  towns 
were  rather  collections  of  villages  than  cities. 

On  the  death  of  Catherine  her  son,  who  took  the  title 
of  Paul  I,  succeeded  to  the  throne.  One  of  his  first  acts 
was  to  re-establish  the  law  of  primogeniture  for  the  suc¬ 
cession,  and  since  the  time  of  his  accession,  on  the  17th 
of  November,  1796,  there  has  been  a  regular  succession 
until  the  present  day.  The  new  ruler  was  at  this  time 

359 


360  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


forty-two  years  of  age.  Although  he  was  a  man  of 
considerable  intelligence,  his  temperament  had  been 
spoiled  by  the  acts  of  his  mother,  who  had  kept  him  in 
abject  submission  to  herself.  The  mystery  that  sur¬ 
rounded  his  father’s  death  also  had  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  his  temperament,  but  he  was  by  nature  a  despot. 

Although  Paul  treated  the  favourites  of  his  mother 
very  well,  he  seemed  to  be  actuated  by  the  desire  to  do 
entirely  contrary  to  the  way  she  did.  He  immediately 
attempted  to  revive  the  old  Russian  court  customs,  and 
compelled  his  subjects  to  kneel  as  his  own  carriage  passed 
by.  He  introduced  Prussian  uniforms  into  the  army, 
with  the  pig-tails,  powder,  shoe-buckles,  etc.,  that  were 
a  part  of  the  Prussian  military  costume  at  that  period. 
Pie  attempted  to  check  the  corruption  that  had  grown  up 
among  officials,  released  some  of  the  Polish  prisoners 
that  were  confined  in  Russian  prisons,  and  did  a  number 
of  other  things  which  showed  a  humane  side  to  his  char¬ 
acter.  He  likewise  took  steps  to  insure  peace  to  his  coun¬ 
try,  which  had  been  devastated  and  ruined  by  the  numer¬ 
ous  campaigns  of  his  mother. 

In  alliance  with  Austria,  Paul  prosecuted  a  war  with 
France.  He  detested  the  republican  tendencies  of  France 
at  that  time,  and  felt  it  his  duty  to  combat  them  in  every 
way,  in  order  to  circumvent  the  spreading  of  these  rev¬ 
olutionary  ideas  throughout  Russia.  Irritated,  however, 
by  misunderstandings  with  his  allies,  and  flattered  by 
the  attention  of  the  wily  Napoleon,  who  understood  the 
weakness  of  the  monarch,  Paul  formed  an  alliance  with 
Napoleon.  With  his  usual  impetuosity  his  zeal  for  Na¬ 
poleon  became  a  passion,  so  that  he  surrounded  himself 
with  portraits  of  that  warrior  and  drank  his  health  pub¬ 
licly.  He  plotted  the  overthrow  of  English  rule  in  India, 
and  planned  a  campaign  of  the  allied  troops  of  Russia 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  361 


and  France  across  Persia  into  India.  Paul  seems  to 
have  had  no  misgiving  as  to  the  success  of  this  enter¬ 
prise,  although  Napoleon  did  express  his  doubts.  The 
result  of  such  a  threatened  campaign  naturally  was  to 
arouse  England  against  not  only  France  but  Russia  as 
well. 

While  Paul  was  busying  himself  with  the  preparation 
of  his  expedition,  an  event  happened  which  startled  Eu¬ 
rope  and  is  still  unexplained.  This  casualty  was  no  less 
than  the  sudden  death  of  Paul,  on  the  23rd  of  March, 
1801.  His  death  has  been  explained  by  many  as  the 
result  of  a  conspiracy  of  England  with  a  certain  element 
of  the  Russian  court.  It  was  one  of  those  palace  in¬ 
trigues  which  have  so  often  decided  the  succession  to 
Russia’s  thorny  crown.  It  is  also  believed  that  his 
son,  if  not  a  party  to  the  conspiracy,  at  least  was  not 
ignorant  of  it.  On  the  following  day  Alexander  I  was 
proclaimed  as  Czar. 

Alexander  was  born  in  December,  1777.  His  grand¬ 
mother,  Catherine  the  Great,  had  superintended  his  educa¬ 
tion  with  maternal  care,  and  yet  with  the  comprehensive 
spirit  of  a  man.  As  a  youth  he  was  very  impression¬ 
able.  It  is  said  that  a  flower,  a  leaf,  or  a  beautiful  land¬ 
scape  would  throw  him  into  ecstasies.  This  impression¬ 
able  nature  was  destined  to  have  a  great  influence  on 
him  throughout  his  reign,  and  upon  the  Russian  people 
as  well.  The  marriage  arranged  for  him  by  Catherine 
proved  an  unhappy  union.  It  went  the  way  of  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  those  founded  on  political  interests  alone.  One 
child  was  born  to  them,  which  died  in  infancy.  They 
soon  drifted  apart,  and  were  united  again  only  when 
both  were  weighed  down  by  sickness  and  sorrow. 

Alexander  had  early  fallen  under  the  influence  of 
advanced  thinkers  and  liberal  philosophers.  He  associ- 


362  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ated  these  comrades  with  him  in  the  government.  His 
first  efforts  were  devoted  to  an  entanglement  of  the  for¬ 
eign  relations  in  which  he  found  the  country  involved. 
To  say  that  the  death  of  Paul  brought  consternation  in 
France  would  be  expressing  the  matter  mildly.  Napo¬ 
leon  saw  the  downfall  of  one  of  his  vast  projects.  Alex¬ 
ander  affected  a  desire  to  remain  on  good  terms  with 
France,  but  Bonaparte  was  greatly  irritated  at  the  abrupt 
change  in  Russian  policy.  A  treaty  was  signed  in  which 
each  country  bound  itself  to  do  everything  to  strengthen 
general  peace,  and  to  insure  liberty  of  navigation.  But 
the  atmosphere  was  still  beclouded. 

Napoleon  had  just  reached  the  height  of  his  ambition, 
and  had  been  crowned  as  emperor.  He  was  dealing  with 
principalities  as  the  chess  player  plays  with  his  pawns. 
Alexander  immediately  began  negotiations  with  England, 
in  order  to  explain  away  misunderstandings  with  that 
country.  He  visited  Frederick  William  III  of  Germany, 
and  swore  eternal  friendship  with  him  at  the  tomb  of 
Frederick  the  Great.  His  purpose  was  to  build  up  a 
coalition  of  a  number  of  the  powers  of  Europe  to  combat 
the  ambitions  of  Bonaparte.  Sweden  and  Naples  joined; 
England  offered  to  contribute  a  generous  sum  of  money. 
A  treaty  was  entered  into  in  which  Prussia  agreed  to 
furnish  a  large  number  of  soldiers.  A  secret  alliance 
already  linked  Russia  with  Austria. 

The  Russian  and  Austrian  armies  were  united,  and 
began  offensive  operations  against  France’s  ally,  Ba¬ 
varia.  Alexander  and  his  young  advisers  were  enthu¬ 
siastic  over  the  prospects,  and  seemed  to  think  that  they 
were  invincible.  When  the  two  opposing  armies  faced 
each  other,  on  December  2nd,  1805,  the  on^y  question  in 
Alexander’s  mind  seemed  to  be,  in  what  direction  Napo¬ 
leon  would  retreat.  He  sent  a  note  to  Napoleon  ad- 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  363 


dressed  to  the  “  head  of  the  French  nation,”  thus  cleverly 
avoiding  the  imperial  title  assumed  by  that  monarch. 
The  result,  however,  was  that  the  retreating  was  done 
by  the  Russians,  and  they  suffered  a  loss  of  more  than 
twenty  thousand  men.  This  was  the  famous  battle  of 
Austerlitz,  in  which  three  emperors  were  present.  It 
was  Alexander’s  baptism  of  fire.  He  blamed  the  disaster 
upon  the  weakness  of  the  Austrians,  the  flower  of  whose 
army  had  previously  capitulated  at  Ulm. 

A  new  coalition  was  entered  into  between  Russia,  Eng¬ 
land,  Sweden  and  Prussia  after  this  disaster.  The  sec¬ 
ond  campaign  resulted  the  same  as  the  first  one;  the 
Russian  and  Prussian  armies  were  defeated.  At  this 
time  Alexander  found  his  country  in  an  unfortunate 
plight,  for  war  with  both  Persia  and  Turkey  threatened. 
He  arranged  a  new  conscription  of  soldiers,  and  ordered 
the  priests  to  proclaim  a  holy  war.  The  forces  of  Napo¬ 
leon  were  pressing  closely,  and  had  already  entered  War¬ 
saw.  Several  engagements  followed  with  considerable 
losses  and  no  great  gains  for  either  party.  Alexander  at 
this  time  had  practically  no  army.  He  opened  up  nego¬ 
tiations  with  Napoleon,  and,  soon  after,  a  personal  inter¬ 
view  took  place  between  the  two  monarchs  at  Tilsit,  on 
June  25th,  1807.  As  a  result  a  treaty  was  entered  into 
governing  the  relations  of  the  two  countries  and  the 
future  of  Prussia.  Alexander  made  a  number  of  sacri¬ 
fices,  because  he  was  not  prepared  for  war,  but  he  did 
promise  to  begin  war  with  England. 

The  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw  was  organized  out  of 
the  Prussian  Polish  provinces,  as  a  beginning  of  a  re¬ 
constituted  Poland.  Alexander  severed  relations  with 
his  brother-in-law,  the  King  of  Sweden,  and  plotted  to 
tear  Finland  from  his  crown.  Napoleon  sanctioned  this 
plan.  The  immediate  result  was  the  conquest  of  that 


364  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


country,  and  its  annexation  to  Russia.  This  change  in 
policy  estranged  Alexander  from  many  of  his  friends  and 
advisers.  It  looked  as  though  French  influences  would 
again  prevail.  This  was  looked  upon  with  disfavour  by 
the  Russian  nobles,  who  feared  Western  republicanism. 
It  was  not  long  until  this  alliance  was  shaken,  but  a  sec¬ 
ond  interview  at  Erfurt  took  place  between  the  two  em¬ 
perors  and  their  advisers.  Here  the  enslaved  German 
princes  had  gathered  to  do  Napoleon  homage,  and  every¬ 
thing  was  well  staged.  Napoleon  entertained  his  guests 
with  fetes,  banquets  and  hunting  parties,  and  another 
treaty  of  alliance  was  entered  into.  Alexander  guaran¬ 
teed  to  Napoleon  the  tranquillity  of  the  continent,  while 
he  waged  war  on  Spain;  on  his  part  Napoleon  ratified 
the  seizure  of  Finland  and  some  provinces  on  the  Danube 
by  Alexander.  Alexander  even  promised  his  support  in 
case  Austria  declared  war  against  France. 

The  result  of  this  rapprochement  with  Napoleon  was 
three  wars  for  Russia,  respectively  with  England,  Swe¬ 
den  and  Austria.  The  Swedish  war  was  a  success,  and 
secured  Finland  for  the  crown,  to  which  Alexander  guar¬ 
anteed  her  ancient  constitution  and  privileges.  The  war 
with  Austria  was  a  farce.  About  this  time  Alexander 
is  credited  with  the  desire  to  give  a  constitutional  gov¬ 
ernment  to  his  own  country.  He  organized  the  Council 
of  State  into  a  sort  of  legislative  chamber,  with  himself 
as  its  president.  But  foreign  complications  interfered 
with  domestic  problems. 

Serious  misunderstandings  soon  arose  between  Alex¬ 
ander  and  Napoleon,  which  became  more  bitter  each  day. 
Alexander  accused  Napoleon  of  trying  to  re-establish  Po¬ 
land,  for  thousands  of  Polish  soldiers  were  serving  in 
the  French  ranks.  Napoleon  desired  to  arrange  a  mar¬ 
riage  with  Alexander’s  sister  after  his  divorce  from 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  365 


Josephine,  but  this  was  a  failure;  Napoleon  married  the 
daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria.  Each  sovereign 
seemed  to  realize  that  war  between  the  two  countries 
was  inevitable,  and  negotiations  were  only  prolonged  to 
enable  each  party  to  perfect  his  preparations. 

Napoleon  began  to  assemble  the  Grand  Army,  which 
at  one  time  amounted  to  678,000  men,  of  whom  356,000 
were  French  and  322,000  foreigners.  There  were  60,000 
Poles  alone  in  this  army.  The  transport  of  this  immense 
number  of  men  was  similar  to  the  great  barbaric  inva¬ 
sions  that  had  moved  over  Russia  in  preceding  centuries. 
This  host  stretched  from  the  Baltic  Sea  southward  across 
Poland.  Prussia  could  not  muster  half  as  many  men  as 
Napoleon  had  under  his  command.  Russia  had  three 
armies  guarding  some  six  hundred  miles  of  open  frontier. 
Alexander  opened  his  headquarters  at  Vilna.  Here  a 
consultation  was  held  with  his  generals,  and  the  Rus¬ 
sian  army  soon  retreated.  It  was  remembered  that  Na¬ 
poleon  always  conquered  on  a  battle-field  of  his  own 
selection.  Napoleon  made  a  grand  entry  into  Vilna,  the 
ancient  capital  of  Lithuania,  and  was  hailed  with  enthu¬ 
siasm  by  the  inhabitants.  At  last  they  felt  they  would  be 
able  to  revenge  themselves  against  the  hated  Russians. 

Vilna  was  the  turning  point  of  Napoleon’s  fortunes. 
Had  he  followed  his  first  impulse,  which  was  not  to 
penetrate  into  the  interior  of  Russia,  because  of  the  vast 
spaces,  bad  roads  and  threatened  disorganization  of  his 
army,  the  future  of  Europe  might  have  been  different. 
But  the  Russians  were  at  no  time  far  away,  and  Napo¬ 
leon  was  gradually  enticed  farther  and  farther  into  the 
interior.  Occasionally  a  conflict  of  the  French  vanguard 
with  some  Russian  forces  occurred,  but  at  no  time  was 
there  a  general  conflict.  The  greatest  battle  occurred  at 
Smolensk.  The  French  lost  thousands  of  men,  but  the 


366  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Russians  more  thousands  in  these  encounters.  A  council 
of  war  was  held  by  the  Russians  within  sight  of  the  city 
of  Moscow.  This  holy  city  appealed  to  all  the  patriotic 
sentiment  that  existed  among  the  Russians.  They  hesi¬ 
tated  to  sacrifice  the  former  capital,  but  decided  to  do 
so.  The  archives  and  treasures  of  the  churches  were 
removed  to  Vladimir. 

Napoleon’s  entrance  into  Moscow  on  November  14th, 
1812,  was  practically  unopposed.  He  had  hoped  that  the 
ci-ty  fathers  would  come  out  and  offer  submission ;  but 
Moscow  was  deserted  by  all  save  a  few  marauders.  Na¬ 
poleon  established  himself  in  the  ancient  palace  of  the 
Czars.  The  inhabitants  set  fire  to  the  city  in  many 
places,  and  four-fifths  of  the  buildings  were  burned. 
This  unexpected  disaster  and  the  scarcity  of  supplies  com¬ 
menced  the  disorganization  of  the  Grand  Army.  Many 
of  the  soldiers  began  to  perish  from  hunger,  and  the 
troops  were  compelled  to  eat  their  horses.  The  thirty- 
five  days  spent  in  Moscow  were  days  of  great  trial.  The 
retreat  was  wearily  begun  by  the  way  of  Smolensk,  which 
had  already  been  laid  waste.  The  peasants  fell  on  for¬ 
aging  parties  with  pitchforks,  or  whatever  weapons  they 
could  muster.  Snow  fell,  and  the  thermometer  went 
down  so  that  thousands  began  to  perish  daily.  The  re¬ 
treat  of  the  demoralized  legions  soon  became  a  rout. 
The  snowy  wastes  between  Moscow  and  Vilna  resembled 
a  shore  strewn  with  wrecks.  Thousands  upon  thousands 
were  left  with  the  Jewish  population  of  that  city  to  be 
taken  care  of.  As  soon  as  the  pursuing  army  reached 
there  these  men  were  turned  out,  and  thirty  thousand 
corpses  are  said  to  have  been  burned.  On  December  8th, 
Napoleon  left  the  remnant  of  his  army  at  the  frontier 
and  hastened  toward  Paris. 

Victory  had  cost  Russia  dear.  Her  finances  were  in 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  367 

a  deplorable  condition,  and  her  western  provinces  were 
desolate.  His  advisers  urged  Alexander  to  make  peace 
with  Napoleon.  But  a  noble  spirit  had  risen  to  meet  this 
crisis.  In  the  later  history  of  Napoleon,  up  to  his  down¬ 
fall,  Alexander  plays  an  important  and  praiseworthy 
part.  He  proved  to  be  the  most  implacable  foe  of  the 
Corsican.  On  several  occasions  England,  Germany  or 
some  other  one  of  the  allies,  animated  by  purely  selfish 
motives,  was  willing  to  treat  with  Napoleon,  but  Alex¬ 
ander  in  every  instance  refused  to  quit  until  Napoleon 
was  removed  from  the  French  throne.  Austria  dreaded 
the  preponderance  of  Russia,  and  England  longed  to  end 
a  struggle  which  was  ruining  her  trade.  In  the  battle 
of  Leipzig,  which  lasted  three  days,  Alexander  showed 
great  personal  bravery,  directing  his  army  in  person  and 
moving  his  troops  into  the  most  threatened  places.  The 
result  was  a  serious  defeat  for  Napoleon.  It  ended 
French  dominion  in  Germany.  Napoleon  at  different 
times  tried  to  open  up  negotiations,  but  Alexander  re¬ 
fused  to  entertain  any  proposals  which  recognized  Napo¬ 
leon  as  the  head  of  France.  Alexander  initiated  the  pro¬ 
posal  to  march  to  Paris,  as  the  way  seemed  to  be  open. 
It  was  due  to  his  persistence  alone  that  this  course  was 
taken. 

On  entering  French  soil  a  noble  proclamation  was 
issued  to  the  people  by  Alexander.  He  assaulted  Paris 
without  waiting  for  the  lagging  Austrians.  The  Czar 
was  the  soul  of  the  attack,  and  the  brunt  of  it  fell  on 
his  troops.  The  defenders  threw  themselves  on  the 
mercy  of  the  invaders.  When  Alexander  and  his  allies 
entered  Paris,  he  promised  the  inhabitants  that  their  dis¬ 
cipline  would  be  maintained;  that  they  were  friends  of 
France  and  enemies  only  of  Napoleon.  The  question  of 
the  future  government  was  to  be  left  with  the  Senate. 


368  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


The  Senate  proclaimed  the  dethronement  of  Napoleon, 
and  a  few  days  later  he  himself  abdicated.  Alexander 
proved  himself  a  generous  foe,  and  did  not  demand  any 
.hardships  from  any  other  nations;  in  fact,  he  was  the 
least  grasping  of  all.  His  magnanimity  made  him  the 
idol  of  France.  Napoleon  was  banished  to  the  island  of 
Elba.  Alexander  returned  home  and  tried  to  restore  a 
semblance  of  order.  Great  corruption  had  grown  up 
during  his  long  absence  with  the  army.  He  had  prom¬ 
ised  Kosciusko  to  restore  autonomy  and  freedom  to 
Poland.  He  issued  a  ukase  granting  many  privileges. 
The  Powers  recognized  the  Grand  Duchy,  with  himself 
as  king.  Russians  became  jealous,  because  greater  free¬ 
dom  was  given  Poland  than  they  themselves  enjoyed. 

It  was  about  this  time,  also,  that  Alexander’s  entire 
character  and  disposition  seemed  to  change.  Hitherto  he 
had  been  the  champion  of  liberal  ideas.  He  had  organ¬ 
ized  the  Holy  Alliance  with  lofty  humanitarian  ideals, 
which  had  been  subscribed  to  by  several  of  the  Powers. 
He  had  encouraged  the  liberation  of  the  serfs.  He  had 
looked  with  favour  upon  Protestantism,  and  encouraged 
the  British  Bible  Society  in  its  work.  He  had  set  an 
example  of  extreme  simplicity  in  living.  Now,  however, 
he  began  to  be  a  student  of  mysticism,  and  resorted  to 
harsher  measures  in  his  own  government.  When  the 
Orthodox  population  of  the  Turkish  dominion  were  op¬ 
pressed,  several  of  the  Church  officials  having  been  mur¬ 
dered  and  other  indignities  heaped  upon  them,  Alex¬ 
ander  refused  assistance,  and  thus  exasperated  his  own 
people.  The  treachery  of  friends,  the  selfishness  of  other 
nations,  the  growth  of  revolutionary  tendencies  in  his 
own  country,  all  contributed  to  his  change  of  heart.  His 
policy  in  Poland  did  not  seem  to  have  the  beneficial  re¬ 
sults  which  he  had  anticipated.  The  old  factious  spirit 


ALEXANDER  I 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  369 


of  the  nobility  had  reasserted  itself  as  violently  as  ever. 
He  felt  compelled  by  a  ukase  to  restrict  some  of  the  priv¬ 
ileges  granted,  and  placed  a  mild  censorship  on  the  press. 

Alexander  became  quite  deaf,  and  this  made  him  sus¬ 
picious.  His  health  became  undermined,  and  he  was 
filled  with  deep  melancholy.  But  no  physical  suffering 
could  make  him  take  his  hand  from  the  helm.  The  fa¬ 
tigue  of  the  many  journeys  taken  over  the  vast  domains 
of  Russia  told  heavily  on  his  iron  frame.  In  September, 
1825,  Alexander  left  his  capital  to  visit  the  southern 
provinces,  in  order  to  review  the  army  gathered  there. 
He  likewise  intended  to  spend  some  time  at  Tagenrog 
for  the  benefit  of  his  own  and  the  Empress’s  health. 

Tagenrog  was  ill  chosen  for  a  health  resort.  Alex¬ 
ander  appears  to  have  been  shaken  by  gloomy  presenti¬ 
ments  before  his  departure,  and  insisted  upon  a  requiem 
mass  being  said  for  him  at  the  monastery  in  St.  Peters¬ 
burg.  He  was  worried  over  his  own  lost  illusions.  It 
may  be  that  recollections  of  the  death  of  his  father  min¬ 
gled  with  his  melancholy.  He  crossed  to  the  Crimea  in 
order  to  make  an  inspection,  and  returned  to  Tagenrog 
in  a  high  state  of  fever.  On  the  ist  of  December,  official 
reports  say,  he  expired  in  the  arms  of  the  Empress,  who 
followed  him  to  the  grave  three  weeks  later.  Because 
of  the  mystery  surrounding  his  death,  many  Russians 
even  to  this  day  believe  that  he  did  not  die  at  this  time. 
They  say  that  another  body  was  substituted  for  that  of 
the  Emperor,  but  that  the  monarch  himself  became  a 
monk  and  wandered  around  over  the  country  for  many 
years  afterwards. 

Much  was  accomplished  during  the  reign  of  Alex¬ 
ander  I.  Many  of  the  tyrannical  measures  of  Paul  were 
set  aside,  and  Russians,  as  well  as  foreigners,  were  per¬ 
mitted  to  circulate  freely  about  the  country.  The  con- 


370  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


dition  of  the  serfs  was  improved,  and  he  began  to  try 
to  evolve  some  plan  for  their  emancipation.  Prison  re¬ 
form  was  likewise  one  of  his  hobbies.  Public  education 
was  brought  to  a  higher  standard,  and  some  system  was 
introduced  into  its  control.  Alexander  conferred  lasting 
benefits  on  Russia,  but  when  his  character  changed  he 
grew  gloomy  and  suspicious,  so  that  he  was  no  longer 
the  same  man.  Plis  evolution  from  the  man  of  liberal 
impulses  had  been  complete.  Having  first  encouraged 
Protestants  and  Protestant  Bible  societies,  he  later  broke 
with  them.  The  glimpse  which  the  Russian  soldiers  had 
of  the  progress  of  liberal  ideas  in  Paris  had  its  effect 
on  their  return.  As  Alexander  saw  these  grow  he  be¬ 
came  more  suspicious,  and  harsher  measures  followed. 
Plaving  no  direct  heir,  the  problem  of  the  succession 
troubled  him,  for  there  is  no  question  that  he  loved  his 
country  and  wanted  to  do  the  best  he  could  for  it. 

The  succession  to  the  throne  upon  the  death  of  Alex¬ 
ander  was  marked  by  the  generosity  of  his  two  older 
surviving  brothers.  Constantine  was  the  eldest,  and 
by  the  law  of  primogeniture  would  have  succeeded  to 
the  throne.  In  1822,  however,  in  order  to  marry  a 
Polish  countess,  he  had  renounced  his  succession,  which 
had  been  approved  by  Alexander,  but  was  kept  secret. 
Upon  the  death  of  the  Czar,  Constantine,  who  was  in 
Warsaw,  hastened  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  Nich¬ 
olas,  while  Nicholas  in  his  turn  swore  fealty  in  St.  Pe¬ 
tersburg  to  Constantine.  Even  after  hearing  read  the 
documents  that  had  been  left,  Nicholas  refused  to  take 
the  oath  until  he  had  word  confirming  it  from  his  brother. 
Upon  receiving  a  letter  from  Constantine  stating  that  he 
had  renounced  the  throne,  the  younger  brother  an¬ 
nounced  his  own  accession  as  Nicholas  I,  and  took  the 
oath  on  December  24th. 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  371 


This  interregnum  of  more  than  three  weeks  gave  a 
chance  for  the  discontented  elements  to  organize,  and  a 
revolution  resulted.  Russia  had  greatly  changed.  In 
the  contact  of  her  soldiers  with  Western  Europe,  they 
had  absorbed  doctrines  which  proved  almost  intoxicating 
for  men  reared  under  an  absolute  despotism  and  igno¬ 
rant  of  practical  politics.  The  revolutionary  poison  had 
been  instilled  in  their  veins.  Secret  associations  had 
been  formed  in  the  capital  and  other  places.  False  ru¬ 
mours  of  the  imprisonment  of  Constantine  were  spread 
in  order  to  divide  the  allegiance  that  was  wavering  be¬ 
tween  the  two  factions.  When  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
Nicholas  was  ordered,  some  of  the  troops  refused  to  take 
it.  They  gathered  in  front  of  the  Senate,  between  it  and 
the  Admiralty  Building.  One  bloody  conflict  took  place 
here  before  the  revolutionists  would  disperse.  Nicholas 
himself  took  personal  charge  of  his  loyal  troops.  After 
persuasion  failed,  he  ordered  the  artillery  to  fire.  The 
mutineers  soon  broke  and  ran.  Many  were  killed,  and 
several  hundred  prisoners  were  taken.  As  a  result,  a 
number  of  the  leaders  were  executed. 

Nicholas  was  now  master.  His  reign  was  begun  with 
a  revolution,  and  death  overtook  him  in  the  midst  of  a 
revolutionary  uprising.  He  combated  the  beginning  of 
disturbances  whenever  they  appeared.  He  had  been  most 
happily  married  to  a  German  princess.  A  man  of  co¬ 
lossal  stature  and  imposing  figure,  he  was  the  very  incar¬ 
nation  of  autocracy  both  in  appearance  and  practice. 
He  was  in  his  thirtieth  year  when  the  burden  of  empire 
fell  upon  him.  His  rule  was  a  constant  protest  against 
the  world  movement  for  greater  individual  freedom. 
Under  him  the  vital  question  of  emancipation  of  the 
serfs  slumbered,  and  no  progress  was  made  toward  the 
realization  of  this  long  cherished  hope  of  the  vast  ma- 


372  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


jority  of  Russia’s  subjects.  The  censorship  weighed 
heavily  upon  the  press,  as  it  was  constantly  kept  under 
hampering  rules. 

The  foreign  relations  of  Russia  during  the  rule  of 
Nicholas  were  at  all  times  troublesome.  The  country 
was  on  the  verge  of  a  war  with  Turkey  at  his  accession. 
The  following  year  a  war  with  Persia  was  begun.  Rus¬ 
sia’s  aggressive  policy  in  that  direction  aroused  the  sus¬ 
picions  of  the  Shah,  and  there  were  perpetual  quarrels 
over  boundaries,  due  to  the  annexation  of  Georgia.  A 
holy  war  was  preached  in  Persia  in  order  to  raise  a  vast 
army.  Nicholas  acted  with  despatch  and  checked  the 
movement  by  his  promptness,  so  that  the  result  was  a 
cession  to  Russia  of  some  additional  provinces  and  an 
indemnity  of  twenty  million  roubles,  together  with  cer¬ 
tain  commercial  advantages  to  Russian  subjects.  At  the 
same  time  was  waged  a  war  with  Turkey. 

This  enemy  of  revolutions  sympathized  with  the  revo¬ 
lutionary  movement  in  Greece,  because  both  were  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Orthodox  Church,  and  Nicholas  claimed  to 
be  the  protector  of  all  members  of  that  denomination. 
An  ultimatum  was  presented  to  the  Sultan,  which  in¬ 
cluded  religious  freedom  and  free  passage  of  Russian 
vessels  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Mediterranean  among 
its  numerous  conditions.  The  practical  independence  of 
Greece  upon  the  payment  of  an  annual  tribute  to  the 
Sultan  was  also  demanded.  In  this  claim  France  and 
England  joined  by  treaty  on  July  6th,  1827.  War  was 
declared  on  Turkey  by  Nicholas,  and  a  movement  of 
troops  immediately  began.  The  allied  fleets  of  England 
and  France  were  sent  to  the  Mediterranean.  The  Sultan 
finally  yielded  to  the  inevitable,  and  the  independence  of 
Greece  was  acknowledged  in  1829.  The  Porte  granted 
practically  all  that  Russia  had  demanded,  and  agreed  to 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  373 


pay  a  large  indemnity.  Nicholas  really  showed  a  degree 
of  moderation  in  his  demands  that  astonished  as  well  as 
delighted  the  Turks. 

Another  serious  trouble  which  arose  during  the  reign 
of  Nicholas  was  a  Polish  insurrection.  Up  to  this  time 
Nicholas  had  been  successful  in  all  his  undertakings. 
Both  Turkey  and  Persia  were  grovelling  in  the  dust. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Czar  of  Russia  had  been 
elected  King  of  Poland.  But  Poland  had  always  been 
subjected  more  or  less  to  French  influence,  and  the  rev¬ 
olutionary  movement  in  France  at  that  time  was  com¬ 
municated  to  Poland.  The  Poles  became  discontented, 
and  complained  that  Russia  was  interfering  with  the 
independence  guaranteed  to  them.  They  claimed  that 
the  Czar  had  agreed  to  restore  White  Russia  to  them, 
and  the  same  had  not  been  done.  Several  persons  placed 
on  trial  in  the  Polish  capital  were  acquitted  without  one 
dissenting  voice,  although  their  guilt  was  proved  beyond 
a  doubt. 

Nicholas  came  to  Warsaw  in  person,  in  1830,  and 
attended  the  Diet  in  the  hope  that  a  better  feeling  would 
result.  On  the  contrary,  the  discontent  became  greater. 
Some  of  the  fiery  youths  began  to  raise  the  cry  of  revo¬ 
lution,  and  an  insurrection  resulted.  A  Russian  cavalry 
regiment  was  attacked  in  the  barracks.  Although  many 
of  the  Polish  leaders  predicted  that  the  movement  would 
be  a  failure,  the  majority  of  the  Polish  Council,  urged 
by  the  popular  feeling,  insisted  upon  a  resort  to  arms. 
They  executed  some  of  their  own  generals  on  the  ground 
of  treason.  Thousands  of  muskets  were  secured  from 
the  citadel.  A  provisional  government  was  set  up.  En¬ 
voys  were  despatched  to  London,  Paris  and  Vienna  to 
influence  the  intervention  of  the  Powers.  These  envoys 
declared  that  the  Romanovs  had  forfeited  the  throne  of 


374  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Poland.  But  Europe  did  not  respond  to  their  agonized 
appeals. 

After  arms  were  taken  up  Nicholas  refused  to  con¬ 
sider  any  treaty,  unless  preceded  by  an  unconditional 
submission.  Plis  brother,  Constantine,  who  had  been  at 
the  head  of  the  government,  left  Poland,  and  the  city 
was  in  the  control  of  the  Polish  Diet.  The  members 
were  at  variance  with  each  other,  and  one  leader  after 
another  was  replaced,  for  political  divisions  have  always 
been  the  ruin  of  Poland.  Hundreds  of  alleged  Russian 
sympathizers  in  Warsaw  of  both  sexes  were  brutally 
murdered.  Nicholas  sent  a  large  army  against  Poland. 
The  Polish  army  was  defeated  in  a  decisive  battle  at 
Vilna.  Warsaw  was  besieged,  and  surrendered  after 
several  bombardments.  As  a  result  Poland  was  incor¬ 
porated  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Russian  Empire,  and 
its  ancient  special  liberties  disappeared.  A  ukase  of 
February  26th,  1832,  removed  Poland  from  the  list  of 
nations,  and  destroyed  the  last  vestige  of  her  separate 
existence.  The  constitution  of  1816  was  swept  away 
bodily,  the  Diet  was  abolished,  and  local  administration 
was  entrusted  to  a  Russian  Viceroy. 

Nicholas  also  turned  his  attention  to  the  dissentient 
religionists.  The  vials  of  his  wrath  fell  upon  the  Uniate 
Greeks  of  Lithuania,  who  had  acknowledged  the  Pope. 
The  population  of  entire  villages,  which  refused  the  nup¬ 
tial  benedictions  of  Orthodox  priests,  were  deported  to 
Siberia.  Russian  officials  who  could  report  numerous 
conversions  were  showered  with  rewards.  Similar  ef¬ 
forts  were  made  against  the  Lutherans  of  the  Baltic 
Provinces  and  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Poland.  Even 
sermons  were  subjected  to  censorship.  In  this,  as  well 
as  political  moves,  he  sought  to  seal  his  domains  her¬ 
metically  against  all  influences  hostile  to  his  system. 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  375 


Public  instruction  was  carefully  watched,  and  students 
were  forbidden  to  attend  foreign  universities  without 
his  special  sanction,  for  fear  that  they  might  imbibe  revo¬ 
lutionary  contagion. 

Let  us  turn  now  to  the  greatest  event  during  the  reign 
of  Nicholas.  At  this  time  his  power  and  prestige  was 
at  its  zenith.  The  preponderance  of  Alexander  I  in  1815 
had  been  regained.  But  there  were  undercurrents  in 
action.  The  Crimean  War  was  not  the  result  of  a  sud¬ 
den  act  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  and 
France,  but  it  had  been  gradually  growing  for  two  dec¬ 
ades  or  more.  The  Russian  outposts  were  constantly 
encroaching  on  Chinese  and  Persian  territories,  so  that 
from  one  end  of  Asia  to  another  England  found  herself 
face  to  face  with  Russia.  It  looked  to  England  as  though 
Nicholas  would  not  stop  until  he  reached  India.  France 
was  a  hotbed  of  democratic  ideas,  and  for  this  reason 
was  looked  upon  with  disfavour  by  Nicholas.  He  wished 
the  world  to  be  unchanged.  When  the  Revolution  of 
1830  overthrew  Charles  X,  Nicholas  did  not  hesitate  to 
express  his  dissatisfaction.  He  called  this  “  an  event  for 
ever  to  be  deplored,”  and  later,  when  this  monarch  died, 
his  court  went  into  official  mourning.  He  missed  no 
occasion  upon  which  he  might  humiliate  France  or  its 
new  sovereign.  The  accession  of  Napoleon  III  did  not 
improve  conditions,  and  Nicholas  refused  to  give  him 
the  courtesy  due  a  crowned  head.  All  of  these  things 
were  treasured  up  by  the  French,  as  the  succeeding  events 
seem  to  prove,  and  Nicholas  paid  dearly  for  his  acts. 

The  Sultan  of  Turkey  granted  some  favours  to  the 
Catholics  in  Palestine,  and  did  some  other  things  which 
seemed  to  hurt  the  pride  of  Nicholas  in  his  claim  as  pro¬ 
tector  of  the  Orthodox  Christians.  Russia’s  ambassador 
presented  an  ultimatum  to  the  Sultan,  which  was  re- 


376  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


fused  because  of  the  promised  support  of  England  and 
France.  Diplomatic  relations  were  broken  off  between 
the  two  governments.  The  Russian  troops  crossed  the 
Pruth,  but  Nicholas  issued  a  proclamation  in  which  he 
announced  that  he  did  not  intend  to  begin  war,  but  wished 
to  be  ready  for  emergencies.  In  a  naval  battle,  however, 
a  Turkish  fleet  was  annihilated  and  four  thousand  men 
were  killed. 

Nicholas  never  believed  that  England,  of  all  countries, 
would  take  up  arms  against  him.  England  was  at  first 
loath  to  take  a  part  in  this  struggle,  but  her  ambassador 
to  St.  Petersburg  made  a  report,  revealing  what  he  be¬ 
lieved  to  be  the  real  objects  of  Nicholas,  so  that  the  gov¬ 
ernment  was  aroused.  The  French  and  English  fleets 
sailed  into  the  Black  Sea.  Napoleon  III  addressed  an 
autograph  letter  to  Nicholas,  as  a  last  attempt  at  peace. 
The  Czar’s  attitude  left  no  alternative  but  war.  On  the 
12th  of  March,  1854,  France  and  England  assured  Tur¬ 
key  of  their  support,  and  an  offensive  and  defensive  alli¬ 
ance  was  concluded.  Prussia  and  Austria  entered  into 
a  mutual  defensive  treaty.  Nicholas  had  succeeded  in 
uniting  the  whole  of  Europe  against  him.  On  the  Black 
Sea  the  allied  fleets  bombarded  Odessa  and  a  number  of 
settlements  in  the  Caucasus.  In  the  Baltic  they  invested 
Kronstadt,  bombarded  Sveaborg  and  a  number  of  other 
places,  and  blockaded  Siberian  ports;  but  the  naval  op¬ 
erations  had  little  effect. 

A  council  was  held  by  the  allies  on  July  25th,  1854. 
Opinions  were  divided  as  to  method  of  procedure,  but 
it  was  decided  to  attack  Sevastopol.  Five  hundred  ships 
landed  the  troops  of  the  allies  at  Eupatoria,  on  the  coast 
of  the  Crimea,  according  to  a  predetermined  plan.  The 
news  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  Russia.  Since  the  dis¬ 
astrous  invasion  by  Napoleon  I  no  foreign  troops  had 


First  Half  of  Nineteenth  Century  377 

ever  landed  on  Russian  soil.  There  were  21,000  English, 
29,000  French,  and  6,000  Turkish  troops  in  this  first 
expedition. 

Had  the  troops  made  an  immediate  advance  upon 
Sevastopol  many  authorities  say  that  they  might  have 
taken  it,  for  the  corruption  and  official  neglect  had  left 
that  city  poorly  defended.  As  soon  as  the  troops  landed, 
however,  the  Russians  set  to  work  and  repaired  this 
neglect.  Citizens,  soldiers  and  sailors  laboured  together 
at  this  task  night  and  day,  and  in  a  short  time  Sevastopol 
was  almost  impregnable.  The  allies  gradually  extended 
their  defences  in  the  direction  of  this  fortress,  but  had 
to  battle  with  the  field  army  at  Balaklava,  at  Inkermann, 
and  at  Eupatoria.  It  became  far  less  a  siege  than  a  sus¬ 
tained  battle  between  two  armies  with  their  communica¬ 
tions  open.  But  winter  set  in,  and  old  Generals  January 
and  February  got  in  their  work,  so  that  the  foreign  troops 
suffered  terribly. 

The  Revolution  of  1848  in  Germany  and  other  parts 
of  Europe  did  not  openly  break  out  in  Russia,  but  many 
sympathizers  with  that  popular  movement  lived  there. 
They  were  held  in  subjection  by  the  strong  hand  of 
Nicholas,  but  were  unreconciled  to  his  form  of  govern¬ 
ment.  The  disasters  to  the  Russian  fleets,  which  were 
claimed  to  be  invincible,  and  the  presence  of  foreign 
troops  on  Russian  soil,  gave  an  opportunity  for  this 
pent-up  dissatisfaction  to  break  forth.  Nicholas  had 
promised  everything,  and  he  was  an  indefatigable 
worker,  but  this  condition  showed  how  unsuccessful  his 
efforts  had  been.  Nicholas  loved  his  country;  he  strove 
hard  to  improve  it  according  to  his  ideals;  he  believed 
himself  to  be  a  heaven-sent  messenger  to  rule  Russia; 
but  he  was  only  human.  His  conceptions  of  his  duties  as 
a  ruler  were  based  upon  illusions.  He  was  steadfast  and 


378  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


true  to  his  family,  and  probably  his  only  happiness  in 
life  was  that  in  the  family  circle  surrounded  by  the  wife 
and  children  whom  he  adored. 

The  greater  the  hopes  of  the  people  had  been  aroused, 
the  harder  and  more  cruel  was  the  awakening.  A  vast 
movement  began  in  Russia.  The  press  broke  their  si¬ 
lence,  and  literature  of  all  kinds  began  to  circulate  openly 
and  surreptitiously.  Accusations  of  every  form  were 
hurled  at  the  Czar.  The  strong  heart  of  Nicholas  began 
to  bleed,  and  he  became  a  broken-hearted  man.  The 
death  of  a  favourite  daughter  afflicted  him  deeply.  The 
estrangement  of  all  the  rulers  of  Europe,  with  most  of 
whom  he  had  been  on  friendly  terms,  aggrieved  him. 
Not  a  single  victory  of  the  Russian  arms  came  to  cheer 
him.  It  is  said  that  he  was  seized  with  many  doubts, 
and  said,  “  My  successor  may  do  what  he  will;  I  cannot 
change.”  He  longed  to  die.  In  February,  1855,  al¬ 
though  suffering  from  the  influenza,  he  went  out  with¬ 
out  his  overcoat  on  an  extremely  cold  day  to  review  a 
detachment  of  troops.  His  doctors  tried  to  restrain  him, 
but  failed.  It  looked  as  though  this  and  other  impru¬ 
dences  of  Nicholas  were  done  purposely.  At  his  dic¬ 
tation  a  message  was  sent  out :  “  1  he  Czar  lies  at  the 
point  of  death.”  On  the  3rd  of  March  of  that  year, 
Nicholas  I  passed  away  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly 
troubles.  He  died  believing  that  he  had  done  his  duty 
to  his  country. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


THE  EMANCIPATION  AND  REACTION 

Alexander  II  —  End  of  Crimean  War  —  Revolution  in  Poland  —  War  with 
Turkey  —  Plevna  —  Emancipation  and  Reform  —  Nihilism  and 
Death  of  Alexander  —  Alexander  III  —  Repressive  Measures  —  Si¬ 
berian  Exile  System. 

“  You  will  find  the  burden  heavy,”  said  the  dying 
Nicholas  to  his  son.  And,  indeed,  it  was  a  weighty  load 
that  fell  upon  Alexander  II,  who  ascended  the  throne  in 
his  thirty-eighth  year.  He  had  been  educated  befitting 
the  future  ruler  of  a  great  state.  This  had  included  mili¬ 
tary  training,  and  journeys  over  a  great  part  of  Russia 
and  nearly  all  of  Europe. 

The  allied  troops  were  still  investing  Sevastopol.  The 
Balkan  States  and  Prussia  had  undertaken  to  defend 
Austria  in  case  of  attack.  A  conference  of  the  Powers 
was  held  at  Vienna,  to  which  Russia  sent  representatives, 
but  the  latter  country  would  not  agree  to  the  demands 
made  of  her.  While  these  negotiations  were  going  on, 
the  end  of  Sevastopol  was  approaching.  Almost  a  thou¬ 
sand  guns  were  sending  shot  and  shell  within  her  ram¬ 
parts.  The  French  had  dug  fifty  miles  of  trenches  dur¬ 
ing  the  siege,  which  lasted  almost  a  year,  and  had  pushed 
their  lines  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  Russian  forces. 
Generals  Kornilov,  Istomine  and  Nakhimov  had  fallen. 
Even  Russian  stoicism  and  reckless  bravery  could  not 
withstand  such  a  determined  bombardment  of  shot  and 
shell  and  a  lack  of  food  supplies.  The  storms  of  shot 

379 


380  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  shell  were  so  heavy  that  the  defenders  had  no  time 
to  repair  the  breaches.  The  Russians  evacuated  the  city 
on  the  8th  day  of  September,  1855,  following  a  deter¬ 
mined  assault  by  the  besiegers,  after  burning  and  blowing 
up  everything  in  their  rear. 

Alexander  is  reported  to  have  wept  over  the  loss  of 
this  great  fortress,  which  had  cost  a  quarter  of  a  million 
lives.  But  weeping  did  not  save  it.  With  the  capture 
of  Sevastopol  a  lull  came  in  the  main  operations  of  the 
war.  The  war  was  finally  ended  by  the  treaty  of  Paris, 
on  March  30th,  1856. 

The  Crimean  War  is  a  landmark  in  Russian  history. 
It  was  the  forerunner  of  a  peaceful  revolution.  Alex¬ 
ander  launched  the  Empire  on  a  path  of  social  and  eco¬ 
nomic  reform.  He  announced  that  all  the  energy  of  the 
government  would  be  employed  in  the  development  of 
the  country’s  own  resources.  As  a  preliminary  to  this 
policy  he  summoned  to  his  aid  the  best  elements  in  all 
Russia.  During  the  succeeding  ten  years  many  reforms 
were  inaugurated,  and  Russia  marched  rapidly  ahead. 
Army  recruitment  was  suspended  for  three  years,  the 
censorship  was  relaxed,  universities  were  thrown  open 
to  all,  and  the  restrictions  of  the  passport  system  were 
practically  removed. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  close  of  the  Crimean  War 
that  troubles  in  Poland  began  to  arise.  Great  hopes  had 
been  awakened  in  that  country  on  the  accession  of  the 
new  sovereign,  but,  as  is  usually  the  case,  the  people 
expected  too  much.  There  existed  in  Warsaw  two  par¬ 
ties.  The  one,  wishing  absolute  freedom,  still  dreamed 
of  breaking  the  bonds  which  bound  them  to  Russia;  the 
other  desired  a  closer  union  with  Russia,  and  the  res¬ 
toration  of  certain  special  rights.  In  i860,  on  the  thir¬ 
tieth  anniversary  of  the  last  revolution,  in  1830,  demon- 


The  Emancipation  and  Reaction  381 


strations  took  place  in  Warsaw,  in  which  portraits  of 
Kosciusko  and  other  Polish  patriots  were  paraded 
through  the  streets.  This  was  followed  by  other  mani¬ 
festations  of  unrest  within  the  succeeding  few  months. 
The  patriotic  anthem  “  No,  Poland  shall  not  die,”  was 
heard  everywhere,  and  the  people  were  aroused  to  the 
highest  pitch. 

The  soldiers  in  attempting  to  disperse  these  assemblies 
killed  a  number  of  unresisting  Poles.  This  passive  re¬ 
sistance  by  unarmed  people  aroused  the  sympathy  of 
Alexander  and  the  Russian  people.  The  Emperor  made 
certain  concessions,  but  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  ex¬ 
tremists.  A  satisfactory  understanding  seemed  impos¬ 
sible,  and  in  1863  armed  antagonism  by  the  Poles  was 
begun.  A  republic  was  publicly  proclaimed.  The  con¬ 
flict  could  not  be  of  great  consequence,  because  Poland 
had  no  army  at  this  time.  It  proved  to  be  little  more  than 
a  war  of  guerrillas  and  sharpshooters,  who  plunged  into 
the  thick  forests  and  attacked  outlying  posts.  The  Rus¬ 
sian  soldiers  in  retaliation  ravaged  many  towns  and  vil¬ 
lages  with  great  cruelty.  One  general  reported  that  it 
was  “  useless  to  make  prisoners.” 

Even  Europe  was  affected  by  this  condition  of  affairs 
in  Poland,  for  to  them  Russian  sovereignty  was  due.  A 
concert  of  the  Powers  presented  a  programme  to  Alex¬ 
ander,  which  included  amnesty  to  the  belligerents  and  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  Polish  language  in  official  matters 
among  other  demands.  Alexander  would  not  consent  to 
this  interference  by  outsiders.  He  announced  that  he 
would  be  master  in  his  own  home.  The  result  was  that 
the  insurrection  was  a  costly  one  for  unfortunate  Po¬ 
land.  The  last  lingering  relics  of  her  autonomy  were 
extinguished.  The  Russian  tongue  became  the  official 
language  in  all  public  acts.  The  University  of  Warsaw 


382  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

was  made  a  Russian  institution,  and  all  the  educational 
system  was  so  reorganized  as  to  aid  in  the  work  of  de¬ 
nationalization. 

Trouble  in  the  Balkans  resulted  in  another  war  with 
Turkey  in  1877.  The  Porte  had  been  rendered  insolent 
by  the  protection  of  the  allied  nations  during  the  Crimean 
War,  and  many  barbarities  were  reported  in  the  Balkan 
Provinces.  Taxes  had  been  increased  to  such  an  extent 
that  they  were  almost  unbearable,  and  the  Christians 
were  cruelly  treated.  Russian  Slavophils  helped  to  fo¬ 
ment  the  discontent.  The  report  of  the  massacres  caused 
great  excitement  throughout  Europe.  Servia  declared 
war  against  Turkey,  but  was  unable  to  defend  herself 
against  her  more  powerful  adversary.  Russia,  in  par¬ 
ticular,  as  the  ancient  protector  of  the  Orthodox  Chris¬ 
tians,  who  predominated  in  those  provinces,  was  thor¬ 
oughly  aroused.  A  protocol  was  signed  by  a  number 
of  the  Powers,  including  Russia,  and  presented  to  the 
Porte.  The  Sultan  indignantly  refused  to  grant  the 
things  demanded.  Three  weeks  later  Russia  declared 
war  against  Turkey,  and  hostilities  at  once  ensued.  Her¬ 
zegovina  had  already  rebelled,  and  Roumania  followed. 
Russia  immediately  occupied  Roumania  and  crossed  the 
Danube,  Alexander  himself  joining  his  forces. 

The  Turks  offered  only  a  feeble  resistance  to  the  Rus¬ 
sian  invasion  at  first.  In  three  months  the  Danube  and 
Balkans  had  been  traversed,  and  the  way  to  Constan¬ 
tinople  seemed  open  to  the  invaders.  Then  Osman 
Pasha  sprang  into  the  breach  and  threw  himself  ahead 
of  the  Turkish  forces.  He  occupied  Plevna,  which  was 
rapidly  entrenched  and  held  against  the  investing  armies. 
For  five  months  the  unequal  contest  centred  around  this 
town,  until  at  last  Osman  Pasha  was  starved  out  and 
attempted  to  escape.  He  was  forced  to  capitulate  with 


The  Emancipation  and  Reaction  383 


his  thirty  thousand  troops.  The  road  to  ancient  Byzan¬ 
tium,  the  long-sought-for  goal,  was  now  opened.  Soon 
afterwards,  however,  an  armistice  was  signed,  and  Tur¬ 
key  was  humiliated.  In  vain  had  Abdul  Hamid  appealed 
to  the  Great  Powers. 

Turkey  was  compelled  to  grant  independence  to  Rou- 
mania,  Servia  and  Montenegro,  by  the  treaty  of  Berlin. 
Bulgaria  was  divided,  part  being  created  into  a  tributary 
principality,  and  the  other  part  retained  by  Turkey. 
Turkey  ceded  to  Russia  a  part  of  Armenia,  which  in¬ 
cluded  the  long-coveted  port  of  Batoum.  This  campaign 
had  cost  Russia  almost  one  hundred  thousand  men,  and 
an  expense  of  several  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  The 
Powers  prevented  her  from  reaping  as  much  return  as 
she  had  hoped  for.  The  pride  of  Russia  was  deeply 
wounded  by  this  intervention,  after  she  had  singly  under¬ 
taken  to  do  what  the  others  wanted  done  —  the  humilia¬ 
tion  and  dismemberment  of  Turkey.  England  acquired 
the  island  of  Cypress,  and  Austria  was  practically  given 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  without  having  fired  a  shot. 
The  disappointment  of  the  Russians  at  being  obliged  to 
give  up  Constantinople  after  a  successful  war  was  in¬ 
tense. 

The  reign  of  Alexander  II  in  general  was  progressive 
—  the  most  advanced  since  those  of  Peter  and  Cathe¬ 
rine,  surnamed  the  Great.  The  experience  in  transport¬ 
ing  troops  during  the  Crimean  War  had  taught  Alex¬ 
ander  the  need  of  railways,  and  the  parallel  lines  of  steel 
rails  were  extended  every where.  Trade  was  greatly  de¬ 
veloped,  and  numerous  educational  institutions  estab¬ 
lished.  Newspapers  grew  rapidly;  literary  activity  de¬ 
veloped,  and  the  artistic  movement  felt  the  inspiration 
of  liberalism.  The  domains  of  Russia  had  been  extended 
over  large  areas  in  Asia.  Different  sections  of  Turkes- 


384  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


tan  had  been  added  at  various  times  to  the  Empire,  and 
additional  territories  had  been  acquired  on  the  Pacific. 
This  eastward  march  had  been  steady  and  unchecked. 
Alaska  was  sold  to  the  United  States  in  1867.  The  Eu¬ 
ropean  policy  of  Russia  vacillated  considerably.  The 
tendency  was,  however,  toward  a  closer  and  more  inti¬ 
mate  alliance  with  Prussia.  The  sovereigns  of  the  two 
countries  exchanged  visits  and  held  a  number  of  inter¬ 
views.  Russia  saw  France  dismembered,  without  ex¬ 
pressing  any  disapproval,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that  her 
menacing  attitude  prevented  Austria  from  going  to  the 
assistance  of  France. 

The  greatest  event  of  the  reign  of  Alexander  II,  that 
which  overshadowed  all  others,  was  the  emancipation  of 
the  serfs.  This  question  had  been  agitating  Russia  for 
a  long  time,  but  no  Autocrat  had  had  the  courage  to  take 
this  courageous  step.  Alexander,  immediately  on  suc¬ 
ceeding  to  the  throne,  attacked  this  question  with  vigour. 
He  urged  the  nobles  to  set  the  example  by  freeing  their 
peasants.  The  Grand  Duke  Constantine  followed  Alex¬ 
ander’s  suggestion.  The  nobles  of  Kiev,  Volhynia  and 
Bodolia  hinted  that  they  might  do  so,  and  Alexander 
took  them  at  their  word  and  granted  the  permission. 
Some  of  the  nobles  of  St.  Petersburg,  Nijni  and  Orel  also 
encouraged  the  Emperor  by  their  attitude,  and  the  press 
were  almost  unanimous  in  their  support  of  this  propo¬ 
sition.  The  Czar  himself  travelled  throughout  Euro¬ 
pean  Russia,  encouraging  the  lukewarm,  and  appealing 
to  his  faithful  nobles  for  support. 

The  great  question  of  emancipation  was  whether  to 
give  the  peasant  only  his  liberty,  which  would  leave  him 
without  support,  or  to  bestow  upon  him  a  grant  of  land 
also.  Committees  were  appointed  by  Alexander  to  de¬ 
cide  what  was  the  best  course.  These  committees  re- 


The  Emancipation  and  Reaction  385 


ported  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  conserve  to  the  peas¬ 
ants  the  land  which  they  actually  occupied.  It  was  on 
this  basis  that  the  Imperial  decree  was  issued.  This  was 
the  final  .settlement  of  accounts  existing  between  masters 
and  serfs.  History  can  show  no  parallel  to  it.  But  the 
peasants  were  not  satisfied,  and  considerable  discontent 
arose  in  many  sections  of  the  Empire.  In  some  instances 
it  was  necessary  to  call  out  the  troops,  and  on  at  least 
three  occasions  they  fired  upon  the  people.  As  a  reward 
for  their  sacrifices  the  landowners  demanded  certain  re¬ 
forms  and  more  political  liberty.  Alexander  soon  learned 
that  his  great  humanitarian  act  was  alike  a  disappoint¬ 
ment  to  the  landed  class  and  peasants. 

Reforms  were  granted  by  Alexander  in  judicial  mat¬ 
ters.  Corporal  punishments  were  abolished,  and  a  num¬ 
ber  of  other  more  liberal  measures  granted.  The  army 
and  navy  were  both  reorganized  on  a  healthier  basis, 
as  the  late  war  had  revealed  their  inefficiency  and  the 
corruption  of  the  bureaucracy.  But  even  the  liberal 
Alexander  was  not  willing  to  limit  the  autocracy  of  the 
sovereign,  or  take  from  it  any  of  its  prerogatives. 

The  latter  half  of  Alexander’s  reign  was  a  complete 
reaction.  The  change  dated  from  the  first  attempt  on 
his  life,  April  16th,  1866.  Nihilism,  which  had  germi¬ 
nated  in  the  brains  of  French  philosophers,  took  deep 
root  in  Russia.  The  impulsive  Slav  nature  chafed  under 
domestic  tyranny.  This  outburst  of  lawlessness  further 
embittered  the  spirit  of  Alexander.  He  thought  the  peo¬ 
ple  unappreciative,  and  therefore  unprepared  for  a  more 
liberal  government.  The  spread  of  Nihilism  rapidly  in¬ 
creased,  and  was  the  cause  of  great  internal  commotion. 
Many  officials  were  murdered,  and  a  number  of  attempts 
on  the  life  of  the  Czar  ensued.  The  Emperor  lived  in 
daily  peril,  but  he  was  no  coward  and  was  always  willing 


386  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


to  appear  where  he  thought  his  presence  was  needed  or 
demanded.  On  the  13th  of  March,  1881,  a  bomb  was 
thrown  at  him  on  one  of  the  streets  of  St.  Petersburg, 
which  wounded  him  so  that  he  died  within  a  few  hours; 
the  assassin  himself  was  also  killed  by  the  explosion.  In 
the  splendid  obsequies  which  followed,  nothing  was  more 
touching  than  the  placing  of  a  wreath  upon  the  bier  of 
the  dead  Czar  by  a  deputation  of  peasants. 

Alexander  III  succeeded  his  father  at  the  age  of 
thirty-six.  Like  all  the  later  emperors,  he  began  his 
reign  at  a  period  of  dire  peril  to  Russian  institutions. 
The  framework  of  society  had  been  shaken  to  its  very 
foundations  by  the  outrages  of  the  past  three  years.  The 
perpetrators  were  fanatics,  who  counted  death  a  martyr¬ 
dom.  Four  men,  who  were  convicted  of  participation  in 
the  conspiracy  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  Alexander 
II,  marched  unflinchingly  to  the  gallows.  The  people 
and  officials  were  bewildered,  and  their  acts  were  marked 
by  helplessness  and  vacillation.  It  was  the  one  thing 
needed,  however,  to  make  the  name  of  Nihilism  odious, 
and  the  natural  revulsion  of  public  feeling  aided  in  the 
coming  reactionary  reign. 

The  new  Czar  was  equal  to  the  task  that  had  befallen 
him.  Having  been  educated  as  a  soldier,  and  under  the 
religious  guidance  of  Pobiedonostzev,  later  made  Pro¬ 
curator  of  the  Holy  Synod  by  him,  he  was  fully  instilled 
with  the  idea  of  autocracy  and  the  mysticism  of  Ortho¬ 
doxy.  Physically  strong,  his  mind  was  equally  so,  and 
Alexander  vigorously  set  his  face  to  maintain  the  an¬ 
cient  traditions.  He  resembled  his  grandfather,  Nicho¬ 
las  I,  very  much.  He  set  his  back  upon  the  reform  ideas 
of  his  father,  and  the  sternest  repressive  measures  fol¬ 
lowed. 

The  new  Procurator  persuaded  his  former  pupil  that 


The  Emancipation  and  Reaction  387 

this  was  not  the  time  to  make  concessions.  That  official’s 
idea  was  “  One  Russia,  One  Religion,  One  Czar.”  Dur¬ 
ing  his  reign  Alexander  did  not  suffer  any  authority  but 
his  own.  Even  the  Mir  and  Zemstvo  were  hindered  in 
their  workings,  and  local  self-government  was  made  ex¬ 
tremely  difficult.  The  dreaded  Third  Section  of  secret 
police  was  augmented.  At  every  fresh  Nihilist  move  a 
state  of  siege  was  proclaimed  and  martial  law  declared. 
Banishments  to  Siberia  in  some  years  amounted  to  from 
ten  to  twelve  thousand.  He  was  determined  not  to  be 
coerced  into  reforms  either  by  the  fate  of  his  father  or 
threats  against  his  own  life.  He  neither  gave  nor  seemed 
to  ask  quarter.  His  religious  instincts  were  shocked  by 
the  idea  of  millions  of  people  living  within  Russia  who 
condemned  the  personality  of  Christ.  The  Jewish  per¬ 
secutions  described  elsewhere  were  begun  in  this  reign. 
The  universities  were  placed  under  governmental  sur¬ 
veillance.  The  muzzling  of  the  press  was  made  still 
more  severe.  Local  self-government  was  made  more  dif¬ 
ficult.  The  period  of  service  in  the  army  was  lengthened, 
for  Alexander  realized  that  an  autocratic  government 
rested  wholly  on  force. 

Alexander  has  been  called  the  “  Peasants’  Czar.”  He 
did  take  measures  to  relieve  them  in  many  ways,  but  not 
by  education.  It  was  wholly  a  paternal  oversight.  Ef¬ 
forts  were  made  to  curtail  intemperance  among  this  class. 
He  set  in  motion  a  plan  to  preserve  the  forests  so  neces¬ 
sary  to  Russia’s  prosperity.  With  the  appointment  of 
Witte  the  development  of  internal  industries  began, 
which  brought  greater  prosperity.  Excellent  labour  laws 
were  proclaimed  after  English  models.  Russia  was 
nearly  bankrupt,  and  it  was  difficult  for  a  while  to  get 
loans.  But  Witte’s  shrewdness,  and  an  entente  with 
France,  opened  the  purse-strings  of  that  republic  and 


388  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


more  than  a  billion  dollars  was  secured.  The  construc¬ 
tion  of  railroads  proceeded  rapidly,  rather  from  military 
strategy  than  aught  else.  The  Trans-Caspian  Railway 
was  built  to  Samarkand,  and  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway 
projected. 

The  reign  of  Alexander  III  was,  however,  almost 
wholly  reactionary.  His  mind  was  cast  in  a  sort  of  inter¬ 
mediate  position  between  medisevalism  and  modernism. 
Polish  liberty  was  further  curtailed  in  many  ways.  The 
Baltic  Provinces  were  Russified,  in  order  to  get  rid  of 
the  German  preponderance.  Even  Finland  felt  the 
mailed  hand  for  the  first  time.  The  postal  system  was 
taken  out  of  their  control,  and  the  freedom  of  the  Diet 
interfered  with.  Exemption  from  military  service  had 
been  allowed  them  heretofore,  but  the  Finns  began  to  see 
the  ominous  writing  on  the  wall. 

No  foreign  war  was  engaged  in  during  Alexander’s 
occupancy  of  the  throne.  But  there  were  threatened 
conflicts  with  Germany,  England,  Austria,  and  the 
Balkan  States.  Everywhere  a  great  distrust  of  Russian 
diplomacy  began  to  appear,  and  its  sincerity  was  doubted 
by  the  various  nations.  England  at  one  time  began  to 
place  herself  on  a  war  footing  over  the  Russian  aggres¬ 
sion  in  Central  Asia,  but  the  war-cloud  passed  away. 
Although  not  a  foot  of  soil  was  added  to  the  Russian 
Empire  in  Europe,  immense  territories  were  acquired  east 
of  the  Caspian.  Western  Turkomania  was  annexed,  and 
the  boundaries  of  both  Persia  and  Afghanistan  were 
encroached  upon. 

Alexander’s  health  broke  beneath  the  terrible  strain 
that  he  laboured  under,  in  the  prime  of  middle  life.  He 
was  an  indefatigable  worker,  and  was  never  idle.  At¬ 
tempts  on  and  threats  against  his  life  broke  down  his 
nervous  system.  The  efforts  made  to  combat  the  revolu- 


The  Emancipation  and  Reaction  389 


tionists  only  accentuated  his  nervous  prostration.  The 
last  few  months  Alexander  lived  a  virtual  prisoner  in 
the  Winter  Palace,  or  at  Gatschina,  near  St.  Petersburg, 
surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  soldiers  and  police  agents. 
By  slow  stages  the  Empress  took  him  to  Livadia,  hoping 
that  the  climate  of  the  Crimea  would  help  him.  It  did 
not,  and  he  passed  away  November  ist,  1894,  at  the  age 
of  forty-nine.  His  death  was  probably  as  much  the  re¬ 
sult  of  his  terrible  experiences  as  if  he  had  fallen  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin.  He  was  the  victim  of  a  system 
which  he  had  inherited,  and  which  he  seemed  powerless 
either  to  break  down  or  alter. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


NICHOLAS  II  AND  HIS  INHERITANCE 

His  Accession  —  Marriage  —  Disappointment  of  Liberals  —  Wealth  —  War 
with  Japan  —  Port  Arthur  —  Treaty  of  Portsmouth  —  Shuster  Inci¬ 
dent  —  Jewish  Passport  Question  —  Growth  of  Russia  —  Siberia  — 
Non-Russian  Subjects  —  Army  and  Navy  —  Railroads  —  Imports 
and  Exports  —  Revenue  —  Manufacturing  —  Low  Wages. 

“  Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown,”  is  an 
old  saying  that  has  many  times  been  exemplified.  In  the 
case  of  the  Romanov  dynasty  of  Russia,  one  might  add 
the  quality  of  unhappy,  as  illustrated  by  most  of  its  sov¬ 
ereigns.  It  has  long  been  a  debatable  question  whether 
heredity  or  environment  wields  the  greater  influence  in 
the  development  of  character.  It  is  true  that  the  present 
representative  of  the  dynasty  has  little  of  the  Romanov 
blood  in  his  veins.  His  own  mother  was  a  Danish 
woman,  and  the  majority  of  the  maternal  ancestors  have 
been  German  princesses.  A  brief  recapitulation,  how¬ 
ever,  of  the  Romanovs  may  be  of  interest. 

Peter  the  Great  is  said  to  have  instigated  the  death 
of  his  son,  who  would  have  fallen  heir  to  the  title,  by 
cruel  treatment.  Catherine  the  Great  caused  the  impris¬ 
onment  of  her  husband  Peter  III,  his  death  following  in 
a  few  days,  and  she  usurped  the  throne.  Her  son,  Paul  I, 
proved  an  unfortunate  ruler  for  the  country,  and  his 
death  was  the  result  of  a  court  conspiracy.  His  son, 
who  took  the  title  of  Alexander  I,  is  believed  to  have 
had  knowledge  of  this  conspiracy,  but  he  took  no  per¬ 
sonal  part  in  it.  Although  Alexander  had  liberal  ten- 

390 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance  391 


dencies,  the  latter  part  of  his  life  was  rendered  unhappy, 
by  lack  of  appreciation  of  his  efforts,  and  likewise  by 
remorse,  so  the  historians  say,  over  the  death  of  his 
father.  Nicholas  I  was  a  reactionary  ruler,  although  a 
man  honest  and  sincere  in  his  efforts  to  rule  the  country 
according  to  the  light  as  he  saw  it.  The  opening  of  the 
Crimean  War,  however,  embittered  his  latter  days  so 
much  that  he  welcomed  death  and  purposely  exposed  him- 
self  to  a  fatal  illness.  Alexander  II  endeavoured  to  give 
Russia  a  more  liberal  government,  but  the  rise  of  Nihi¬ 
lism  completely  changed  his  character.  In  his  later  years 
the  entire  trend  of  his  efforts  was  an  absolute  reversal 
of  his  first  years.  After  escaping  a  number  of  attempts 
upon  his  life,  he  at  last  fell  a  victim  to  a  Nihilist  bomb. 
Alexander  III,  strong  and  vigorous  at  his  accession, 
yielded  to  the  strain  of  hard  work  and  nervous  appre¬ 
hension  after  only  thirteen  years  as  Autocrat. 

“  Neglect  nothing  that  can  make  my  son  truly  a  man,” 
is  said  to  have  been  the  instruction  of  Alexander  to  the 
tutors  of  his  son.  Nicholas  II  was  born  May  18th,  1868, 
so  that  he  was  still  in  early  manhood  when  he  ascended 
the  throne  of  all  the  Russias.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  he  made  a  tour  of  the  Far  East,  visiting  China  and 
Japan.  He  returned  by  the  way  of  Siberia,  and  is  the 
first  Czar  who  has  ever  visited  his  Asiatic  domains. 
Many  of  the  events  of  his  reign  are  too  recent  to  be 
treated  of  intelligently,  for  they  have  as  yet  no  clear 
place  in  history.  The  motives  underlying  the  policy  of 
the  present  government  cannot  be  fully  defined,  as  they 
are  still  in  the  confidential  stage.  Some  of  the  events  of 
recent  years  are  treated  in  other  chapters,  where  their 
bearing  upon  the  general  trend  of  development  of  the 
Empire  is  shown. 

Nicholas  is  a  man  humanely  disposed,  without  doubt, 


392  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

but  he  lacks  initiative.  He  is  neither  a  large  nor  a  rugged 
man.  His  moods  vary,  and  he  is  said  to  be  a  mystic  and 
superstitious.  If  so,  he  is  not  the  first  of  this  dynasty 
to  exhibit  such  a  tendency.  The  Czar  goes  through  an 
enormous  amount  of  work,  rising  early  and  toiling  late. 
Much  of  it  is  really  clerical.  Some  who  have  associated 
with  him  describe  Nicholas  as  a  very  lovable  character, 
full  of  kindliness  and  goodness.  If  so,  he  is  deaf  to 
everything  tending  to  disprove  his  counsellors.  He  is 
timid,  and  in  this  way  resembles  his  cousin,  George  V 
of  England,  who  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  Nich¬ 
olas  II.  Their  mothers  were  daughters  of  the  late  King 
of  Denmark. 

Nicholas  was  married  on  the  26th  of  November,  1894, 
to  the  Princess  Alice  of  Hesse,  a  granddaughter  of  Queen 
Victoria.  On  entering  the  Greek  Church  she  received 
the  name  of  Alexandra  Feodorovna.  To  them  five  chil¬ 
dren  have  been  born.  It  was  a  source  of  grievous  dis¬ 
appointment  to  the  couple,  as  well  as  the  Russian  people, 
that  the  first  four  children  were  girls.  Great  was  the 
rejoicing  when  a  son  and  heir  to  the  throne  appeared  at 
Peterhov  on  the  30th  of  July,  1904.  The  Czarevitch  is 
known  as  the  Grand  Duke  Alexis,  together  with  a  long 
list  of  other  names.  A  recent  accident,  which  is  said 
to  have  really  been  an  attempt  on  his  life,  excited  great 
apprehension  in  the  Imperial  family.  The  Czarina  is 
a  home  body,  and  is  devoted  to  her  family,  and  especially 
the  little  son,  and  the  Imperial  couple  live  as  modestly 
as  their  position  allows.  They  do  not  care  to  meet 
strangers.  The  Dowager  Empress,  mother  of  the  Czar, 
is  jealous  of  her  position,  and  really  usurps  many  of  the 
prerogatives  of  the  Empress,  who  oftentimes  yields 
rather  than  have  trouble. 

The  hopes  of  the  Liberals  upon  the  accession  of  Nich- 


EMPRESS  ALEXANDRA  GRAND  DUCHESS  OLGA 


' 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance 


393 


olas  were  blasted  by  his  first  statement  of  policy.  In 
it  he  said  he  would  uphold  the  principles  of  autocracy, 
as  interpreted  by  his  father.  No  change  of  moment  was 
made  in  the  counsellors  whom  he  kept  around  him. 
Those  who  exercised  the  strongest  influence  undoubtedly 
were  Plehve  and  Pobiedonostzev,  the  latter  ruling  the 
Holy  Synod  with  an  iron  hand.  Although  the  Czar  is 
in  theory  an  absolute  monarch,  it  seems  impossible  for 
him  to  get  away  from  the  influence  of  hereditary  envi¬ 
ronment. 

In  1896,  after  the  coronation,  the  Imperial  pair  set 
out  on  a  journey  through  Europe,  visiting  France,  Eng¬ 
land  and  Germany.  Nicholas  made  it  plain  that  he  in¬ 
tended  to  maintain  the  world’s  peace  in  a  spirit  of  right 
and  equity.  After  this  visit  the  world  received  notice 
of  an  alliance  between  France  and  Russia.  Each  one 
agreed  to  assist  the  other,  if  attacked  by  more  than  one 
Power,  and  peace  could  only  be  made  in  a  concert  be¬ 
tween  the  two  Powers. 

It  was  due  to  the  initiative  of  Nicholas  that  the  first 
peace  conference  was  assembled  at  The  Hague,  in  which 
twenty-six  of  the  leading  nations  were  represented.  The 
world  was  startled  by  the  note  from  St.  Petersburg  which 
called  together  this  congress  of  nations.  It  is  true  that 
nothing  definite  was  accomplished,  but  it  did  bring  to¬ 
gether  representatives  of  the  leading  world  powers  in 
a  way  which  may  bring  better  results  later.  Most  of 
the  Powers  looked  upon  the  scheme  as  altogether  vision¬ 
ary,  but  a  permanent  Court  of  Arbitration  exists  as  a 
result  of  the  Czar’s  initiative.  Of  all  the  Great  Powers, 
the  United  States, was  the  only  one  unreservedly  in  fa¬ 
vour  of  the  scheme. 

The  Czar  is  said  to  be  the  richest  man  in  the  world. 
Lands  in  Europe  as  extensive  as  the  State  of  Nevada, 


394  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


which  yield  a  revenue  of  twenty  millions  of  dollars  an¬ 
nually,  belong  to  the  Crown,  while  there  is  almost  an 
equal  amount  in  Siberia,  which  is  largely  undeveloped. 
The  total  income  of  the  Czar  amounts  to  almost  thirty 
millions  of  dollars.  The  Imperial  treasurer  made  the 
following  report  a  few  months  ago,  which  is  said  to  have 
greatly  displeased  the  Czar,  because  of  its  flippancy : 

“  Your  Majesty  need  have  no  fear  of  ever  coming  to 
suffer  the  stings  of  poverty.  Financially  you  are  sol¬ 
vency  itself.  With  one  hand  you  could  buy  out  the 
American  multi-millionaires,  Rockefeller  and  Morgan, 
and  still  have  sufficient  to  talk  business  with  Baron  Roths¬ 
child.” 

The  most  humiliating  event  of  the  reign  of  Nicholas  II 
was  the  war  with  Japan.  Since  1558,  when  Ivan  the 
Terrible  granted  a  few  square  miles  of  waste  land  beyond 
the  Ural  Mountains  to  Gregory  Sterogonov,  Russia  had 
been  gradually  extending  her  dominion  in  Asia.  At 
first  it  was  difficult,  because  there  was  little  or  no  com¬ 
munication,  owing  to  the  great  distances  separating  Si¬ 
beria  from  Moscow.  As  early  as  1619,  however,  Tomsk 
was  founded.  A  littlle  later  Yakoutsk  was  established. 
During  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  the  first 
foothold  was  gained  on  the  Chinese  soil.  The  greatest 
growth,  however,  occurred  during  the  nineteenth  cen¬ 
tury. 

Japan  had  been  watching  the  sly  methods  of  her  gigan¬ 
tic  neighbour  ever  since  she  had  opened  her  doors  to 
Western  civilization.  It  was  several  decades,  however, 
before  Japan  felt  herself  strong  enough  to  protest.  She 
first  felt  the  mailed  hand  of  Russia  when  compelled  to 
yield  half  of  the  great  island  of  Saghalien  in  1875,  an 
act  that  was  never  forgotten.  She  feared  that  Russia 
would  seek  a  pretext  to  demand  the  occupation  of  some 


Photograph,  Underwood  &  Underwood,  N.  Y. 

THE  CZAREVITCH,  GRAND  DUKE  ALEXIS 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance  395 


of  the  Japanese  islands,  as  she  had  sections  of  the  out¬ 
lying  territory  of  China.  As  Russia  reached  her  fingers 
down  into  Manchuria,  Japan  was  greatly  aroused.  Then 
when  the  war  between  Japan  and  China  broke  out,  and 
humbled  China  was  compelled  to  seek  peace,  Japan  was 
deprived  of  the  fruits  of  her  victory  by  the  wiles  of 
Russia, 

With  the  cession  of  the  Liatung  Peninsula,  where  Port 
Arthur  is  located,  to  Russia,  and  which  had  been  desired 
by  Japan,  the  national  spirit  was  thoroughly  aroused. 
The  influence  of  Russia  in  Korea  was  likewise  being 
felt,  and  Japan  looked  upon  the  Hermit  Kingdom  as 
peculiarly  within  her  sphere  of  influence.  Japan  pro¬ 
tested  many  times  through  her  representative  in  St.  Pe¬ 
tersburg,  but  without  avail.  She  began  to  buy  and  build 
war-vessels  everywhere,  and  to  increase  her  army.  She 
refused  to  be  turned  aside  from  her  purpose  by  the  pro¬ 
test  of  Russia  and  other  nations,  but  continued  to  pre¬ 
pare  for  war.  As  her  strength  increased,  the  protests  of 
Japan  became  more  and  more  emphatic.  There  was  a 
peace  party  in  St.  Petersburg  which  favoured  yielding 
to  these  demands,  but  the  opportunity  was  lost  through 
neglect  and  the  division  among  the  ministers. 

Although  Japan  had  broken  off  diplomatic  relations 
with  Russia  several  months  prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the 
war,  the  Russian  government  did  not  seem  to  take  this 
action  seriously.  Hence  it  was  that  when  the  Japanese 
guns  were  fired  in  the  harbour  of  Chemulpo,  early  in 
February,  1904,  Russia,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  world, 
was  startled.  Russia  protested  that  her  absorption  had 
been  a  peaceful  process,  forgetting  that  it  had  all  been 
done  under  the  prestige  of  her  enormous  power.  Russia 
was  absolutely  unprepared  for  a  conflict.  The  number 
of  troops  available  in  the  East  was  small,  and  the  utmost 


396  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

capacity  of  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway  was  forty  thou¬ 
sand  per  month.  Japan  acted  quickly,  and  soon  had 
Port  Arthur  blockaded  and  the  waters  planted  with 
mines.  On  April  13th  the  Petropavlosk  was  coaxed  out 
of  her  secure  retreat  and  sunk  by  a  mine,  Admiral  Maka¬ 
rov,  Russia’s  ablest  naval  commander,  and  six  hundred 
sailors  being  lost.  For  months  afterwards  not  a  single 
vessel  ventured  out  from  its  retreat.  Later,  as  one  Rus¬ 
sian  vessel  after  another  was  sunk  in  Oriental  waters, 
the  government  of  St.  Petersburg  began  to  realize  what 
a  desperate  conflict  it  had  on  hand. 

It  was  then  announced  in  St.  Petersburg  that  the  land 
battles  would  have  a  different  ending,  because  the  Rus¬ 
sian  strength  was  on  the  land.  Regiment  after  regiment 
of  troops  was  sent  across  Siberia,  until  the  capacity  of 
the  railroad  was  overtaxed.  But  Russia’s  success  on 
land  was  as  poor  as  on  the  sea.  The  Japanese  army  had 
been  carefully  prepared,  and  was  determined  to  win  the 
first  big  battle.  The  opportunity  came  at  Yalu,  which 
resulted  in  a  decisive  victory  on  May  1st.  This  was 
followed  by  Nanshan,  May  26th.  General  Kuropatkin, 
commander  of  the  Russian  forces,  played  the  game  of 
delay,  as  he  wanted  to  wait  until  he  had  a  superior  force ; 
but  orders  from  St.  Petersburg  hindered  him,  and  he  was 
compelled  to  take  the  offensive.  After  his  defeat  at 
Liao-Yang,  Kuropatkin  retreated  to  Mukden.  A  little 
later  he  was  superseded  by  General  Linevitch. 

Interest  began  to  centre  around  Port  Arthur,  where 
the  Japanese  forces  were  concentrating.  An  available 
force  of  forty-seven  thousand  men  were  in  that  fortified 
city  under  General  Stoessel.  The  first  bombardment 
began  August  19th,  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  a 
struggle  lasting  for  months.  Tremendous  losses  were 
suffered  by  the  Japanese  in  their  several  advances,  but 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance  397 


it  seemed  impossible  to  make  any  headway.  General 
Stoessel  was  both  brave  and  stubborn.  The  continued 
futile  assaults  and  bombardments  disheartened  the  Japs. 
A  final  attack  on  203  Meter  Hill  resulted  in  victory  on 
December  5th,  and  this  was  the  turning-point.  The  sur¬ 
render  was  made  on  January  2nd,  1905,  after  half  of 
the  defenders  were  either  killed  or  disabled.  The  Jap¬ 
anese  casualties  were  ninety-two  thousand,  including  the 
loss  by  sickness.  The  Russian  European  fleet  left  Libau 
October  13th,  for  the  East.  On  the  27th  of  May,  1905, 
Admiral  Rojestvensky  met  the  enemy  at  Tsushima,  and 
his  fleet  was  soon  either  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  or  in 
the  hands  of  the  Japanese.  This  disaster  was  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  end. 

Russia  was  ready  for  peace  by  this  time,  and  it  only 
needed  the  suggestion  of  President  Roosevelt  to  bring 
about  a  meeting  between  the  two  antagonists.  The  com¬ 
missioners  appointed  by  Russia  and  Japan  met  at  Ports¬ 
mouth,  New  Hampshire,  and,  after  a  number  of  threat¬ 
ened  breakings  of  the  negotiations,  a  treaty  of  peace  was 
finally  signed  on  the  23rd  of  August,  1905.  Thus  ended 
a  war  which  had  lasted  more  than  a  year  and  a  half,  and 
had  cost  Russia  a  third  of  a  million  of  men  and  more 
than  a  billion  in  money.  By  its  terms  Russia  ceded  back 
to  Japan  half  of  the  island  of  Saghalien,  surrendered  the 
lease  of  the  Kwangtung  Peninsula,  gave  up  Port  Arthur, 
and  recognized  the  Japanese  sphere  of  influence  in  Korea. 

The  check  to  Russia’s  advance  in  the  Far  East  has  not 
deadened  her  ambitions.  She  still  looks  forward  with 
longing  for  a  warm-water  port  on  the  Persian  Gulf. 
The  Shuster  incident  in  Persia  is  a  recent  evidence  of 
this.  W.  Morgan  Shuster,  an  American,  was  invited 
to  take  charge  of  the  finances  of  Persia  by  that  govern¬ 
ment  itself.  He  arrived  in  Teheran  on  the  12th  of  May, 


398  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


1911.  It  was  not  long  until  protests  from  Russia  were 
heard.  She  threatened  to  take  control  of  the  Persian 
customs  unless  Shuster  was  dismissed.  The  deposed 
Sultan,  who  had  been  living  in  Russia,  started  an  insur¬ 
rection,  a  very  convenient  move  for  Russia.  Upon  the 
refusal  of  the  Russian  ultimatum  by  Persia,  thousands 
of  Cossacks  and  other  troops  were  poured  into  poor, 
helpless  Persia.  Even  after  Persia  yielded  and  dismissed 
Shuster,  when  threatened  by  such  superior  forces,  the 
Russian  troops  were  kept  on  Persian  soil,  and  fighting 
occasionally  followed.  Mr.  Shuster  says  that  the  whole 
trouble  was  fomented  by  Russia.  “  Russia,”  says  he, 
“  is  now  the  sovereign  power  in  Persia.  She  is  the  prac¬ 
tical  and  effective  ruler  of  the  country.  The  whole  of 
Persia  is  to-day  a  satrapy.  The  people,  however  brutally 
treated,  have  no  means  of  protest.” 

One  other  diplomatic  trouble  has  occurred  in  which 
the  United  States  has  been  involved.  Russians  have 
always  had  a  high  regard  for  Americans  and  the  United 
States,  even  though  they  have  no  use  for  democracy  as 
an  institution.  The  most  serious  strain  on  this  friend¬ 
ship  occurred  in  the  action  of  Congress,  during  its  ses¬ 
sion  in  1911-12,  in  abrogating  an  ancient  treaty  on  ac¬ 
count  of  the  refusal  to  recognize  the  American  passports 
of  Jewish  citizens.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Jewish  citi¬ 
zens  of  the  United  States  have  exactly  the  same  privi¬ 
leges  as  their  co-religionists  of  England  and  Germany. 
Commercial  travellers  of  Jewish  birth,  but  representing 
houses  permitted  to  do  business  in  Russia,  are  allowed 
freely  to  enter  the  country  and  travel  over  it  on  prac¬ 
tically  the  same  terms  as  other  foreigners. 

The  Russian  has  a  logical  answer  to  the  protest  of 
the  United  States.  Our  country  will  not  admit  polyg¬ 
amists,  and  yet  Russia  has  thousands  of  polygamous  sub- 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance  399 


jects,  and  millions  of  Mohammedans,  who  at  heart  be¬ 
lieve  in  the  principle  of  plural  marriages.  There  are 
likewise  tens  of  thousands  of  Chinese  who  are  subjects 
of  the  Czar.  “  Now,”  says  the  Russian,  “  if  you  will 
not  admit  our  polygamists  or  Chinese,  how  can  you  in¬ 
sist  on  our  admitting  your  Jews  ?  ”  It  is  an  unanswerable 
argument.  We  object  to  the  Chinese,  which  is  a  racial 
distinction,  and  we  reject  the  Mohammedan,  whose  re¬ 
ligion  permits  plural  marriages.  The  Russian  objects 
to  the  Jew  both  on  the  ground  of  his  race  and  his  relig¬ 
ion.  International  law  will  not  uphold  the  position  of 
the  American  Congress,  and  other  nations  would  be 
equally  justified  in  protesting  against  our  exclusion  of 
the  Chinese.  Russia  is  too  big  a  country  to  be  bluffed. 
It  is  not  a  Central  American  republic.  Russian  states¬ 
men  threaten  to  retaliate  by  a  discriminating  tariff  against 
American  goods  and  products.  It  can  be  done,  and  pub¬ 
lic  opinion  will  uphold  the  government.  The  dislike  of 
the  Jew  in  Russia  is  universal  from  noble  to  peasant. 
If  the  government  should  represent  public  opinion,  then 
in  this  respect  the  Russian  government  but  reflects  the 
opinion  of  her  subjects  in  the  matter  of  the  passport 
discriminations  against  this  race.  The  United  States  can 
gain  nothing,  nor  will  the  Jew,  either  in  this  country  or 
Russia,  be  benefited. 

The  rapid  growth  of  Russia  has  been  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  facts  of  modern  history.  Surrounded  by  a 
boundless  expanse  of  thinly  populated  and  fertile  soil  to 
the  south  and  east,  it  was  an  easy  matter  for  the  ancient 
Muscovite  Empire  to  expand.  Her  national  sovereignty 
threatened  on  the  west  by  Poland  and  Lithuania,  she 
gradually  eliminated  them  and  absorbed  most  of  their 
territory.  Sweden,  at  one  time  so  powerful,  was  like¬ 
wise  reduced  to  a  harmless  kingdom.  From  an  empire 


400  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


of  less  than  a  million  square  miles,  with  a  population  of 
a  few  million,  she  has  become  an  empire  of  more  than 
eight  million  square  miles  with  a  population  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  millions. 

Has  the  end  been  reached?  To  the  north  the  Arctic 
Ocean  stops  further  conquest.  Norway  and  Sweden 
alone  remain.  Westward  the  mighty  German  Empire 
can  protect  itself.  Should  Austria  ever  disintegrate, 
Galicia  would  be  welcomed  by  Russia  as  geographically 
and  ethnographically  belonging  to  it.  Farther  south  is 
Constantinople,  and  the  Czars  of  Russia  look  upon  them¬ 
selves  as  the  logical  successors  of  the  Byzantine  em¬ 
perors.  The  Czars  consider  themselves  the  protectors  of 
the  Orthodox  faith.  Then  there  is  the  Panslavist  school, 
which  looks  forward  to  a  union  of  all  Slavs.  This  ele¬ 
ment  will  be  found  busy  in  settling  the  disputes  among 
the  Balkan  States.  In  Afghanistan  Russia  met  the  Eng¬ 
lish,  and  war  nearly  resulted.  A  sphere  of  influence  was 
agreed  upon,  but  England,  on  more  than  one  occasion, 
has  claimed  that  Russia  violated  the  agreement.  The 
Trans-Caspian  Railway  has  aroused  hopes  of  extension 
in  that  direction.  Thus  it  is  that  the  Russian  Empire 
stands  at  the  present  time. 

Russian  development  in  Siberia  is  increasing.  Most 
people  think  of  Siberia  only  “  as  a  land  of  terror  —  a 
region  of  exile,  the  domain  of  gloom.  We  have  been 
told  that  it  was  a  snowy  desert,  where  wander  men  and 
women  whom  Russian  oppressors  drove  from  their 
homes.  It  has  been  pictured  to  us  as  a  country  of  pris¬ 
ons,  a  waste  peopled  by  destroying  wolves,  and  senti¬ 
nelled  by  grim  and  savage  Cossacks,  the  agents  of  a 
secret,  ruthless  and  terrible  power.”  It  is  developing 
into  one  of  the  richest  agricultural  regions  in  the  Empire. 
Thousands  of  Russian  emigrants  have  gone  there,  and 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance  401 


have  been  given  a  free  grant  of  forty  acres  of  land. 
There  are  in  excess  of  a  half  million  square  miles  of 
fertile  land  —  a  tract  equal  to  two  states  the  size  of 
Texas.  All  the  ordinary  grains  grown  in  our  own  north¬ 
ern  states  and  in  Argentina  thrive  there.  Among  these 
might  be  mentioned  wheat,  rye,  flax,  oats  and  barley. 
The  railway  service  is  still  inadequate  to  take  care  of  the 
traffic.  American  sellers  of  agricultural  machinery  are 
enthusiastic  over  the  country,  for  their  sales  have  gone 
up  by  leaps  and  bounds  in  the  last  few  years. 

Alexander  III  began  a  policy  of  Russifying  all  his 
alien  subjects,  which  has  been  maintained  by  Nicholas  II. 
The  Finlanders,  who  desire  only  the  limited  autonomy 
enjoyed  before,  have  been  aroused  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  and  hatred  of  Russia  has  greatly  increased. 
The  Poles  still  harbour  their  old  aspirations  for  inde¬ 
pendence.  The  continued  efforts  to  bring  them  into  the 
Orthodox  fold  only  increase  the  bitter  hostility.  The 
Armenians  chafe  under  the  political  burden,  and  the 
Caucasus  is  always  a  hot-bed  of  revolution.  The  gov¬ 
ernment  has  gone  deliberately  out  of  its  way  to  alienate 
these  non-Russian  subjects.  And  yet  all  of  these  would 
be  helpful  in  a  Greater  Russia.  The  Finns  would  be  an 
outpost  at  the  north;  the  Poles  would  act  as  a  check 
against  the  ambitions  of  Germany;  the  Caucasians  and 
Armenians  would  protect  Russia  in  that  direction  and 
aid  in  further  conquest.  All  know  that  an  armed  strug¬ 
gle  with  Russia  at  this  time  would  mean  disaster.  They 
oppose  compulsory  military  service.  Although  Russia 
enforces  it,  the  government  fears  the  loyalty  of  many 
of  its  regiments.  Although  the  Jews  never  have  hoped 
for  autonomy,  they  have  furnished  their  fair  proportion 
to  the  revolutionary  movements.  Should  any  of  the 
opposition  parties  be  able  to  add  all  of  these  discontented 


402  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  alien  elements  to  its  own  ranks,  matters  would  cer¬ 
tainly  look  serious  for  the  autocracy  and  its  adherents. 
These  elements  number  about  as  follows  (the  figures 
being  only  approximate)  : 


Caucasians 

Finlanders 

Jews 


5,000,000 

3,000,000 

6,000,000 

9,000,000 

1,200,000 


Poles 

Lithuanians 

Germans  (Baltic  Provinces) 


200,000 


To  keep  her  unruly  subjects  in  order  Russia  maintains 
an  immense  army.  The  peace  strength  is  almost  a  mil¬ 
lion  and  a  quarter,  while  the  war  footing  is  estimated  at 
four  millions  of  men.  This  would  be  a  tremendous  force, 
if  it  was  welded  together  by  such  a  national  spirit  and 
patriotism  as  the  German  army.  But  it  is  not,  for  there 
is  little  of  that  feeling  to-day,  as  the  Russo-Japanese  war 
demonstrated,  and  the  recruits  from  among  the  Poles, 
Jews,  and  Caucasians  are  bitter  in  their  resentment 
toward  the  government.  The  army  was  completely  re¬ 
organized  and  modernized  on  the  ist  of  January,  1911. 
All  male  citizens  are  liable  to  service  from  the  age  of 
twenty-one  to  forty-three.  This  makes  available  more 
than  a  million  new  recruits  each  year,  and  a  little  less  than 
half  that  number  are  required.  The  period  of  training  is 
four  years,  after  which  the  Russian  soldier  is  drafted 
into  the  reserve.  Those  who  must  serve  are  chosen  by 
lot.  The  young  men  of  a  district  assemble  in  the  town 
hall,  and  each  one  is  given  a  number.  They  then  pass 
by  a  box  in  single  file,  and  each  one  draws  out  a  slip 
of  paper.  The  number  thereon  determines  whether  the 
drawer  shall  serve  the  state  or  not.  For  those  who  have 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance 


403 


drawn  the  unlucky  numbers  but  one  hope  remains  — 
that  they  may  be  found  physically  unfit. 

The  navy  is  likewise  being  rapidly  rehabilitated  since 
the  disasters  of  the  Russo-Japanese  war.  The  number 
of  warships  of  all  classes  finished  or  in  building  exceeds 
two  hundred.  Among  these  are  seven  dreadnaughts,  of 
which  three  are  intended  for  service  in  the  Black  Sea. 
There  are  sixteen  battleships,  and  thirteen  armoured 
cruisers  of  the  first  class.  The  loyalty  of  this  branch 
of  the  service  is  continually  being  questioned  since  the 
mutiny  of  the  Potemkin.  In  September,  1912,  there  was 
a  mutiny  in  the  Black  Sea  fleet  which  involved  as  many 
as  five  hundred  sailors  and  petty  officers.  The  suicide  of 
a  prominent  naval  officer  followed  soon  after  these  dis¬ 
closures. 

Under  Nicholas  the  extension  of  railways  has  rap¬ 
idly  progressed,  more  so  than  during  any  previous  reign. 
In  1883  there  were  but  fifteen  thousand  miles  of  railroad 
in  the  Empire.  To-day  there  are  forty-five  thousand 
miles  of  track.  Even  then  the  United  States  has  about 
eight  times  as  many  miles  for  each  soul  of  her  population. 
The  first  section  of  the  Trans-Siberian  line  was  opened 
in  1895,  and  the  last  in  1901.  This  was  a  gigantic  under¬ 
taking  worthy  of  a  great  Empire.  Originally  laid  as  a 
single-track  road,  it  is  now  being  rapidly  double-tracked. 
The  Trans-Caspian  line  was  another  great  undertaking, 
and  was  pushed  energetically  out  across  the  plains  of 
Turkestan.  In  almost  every  direction  throughout  Rus¬ 
sia  railways  are  projected  to  link  together  or  open  up 
important  centres.  The  government  alone  lays  down 
a  minimum  of  twenty-six  hundred  miles  a  year,  and  it 
is  encouraging  the  construction  of  private  lines  in  many 
places. 

Roads  are  few  and  far  between.  In  some  places,  as 


404  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


between  Moscow  and  Kharkov,  there  is  a  fairly  well- 
kept  highway.  Like  the  streets  it  is  laid  out  on  gener¬ 
ous  lines,  with  wide  tracts  of  sward  on  each  side  where 
peasants  pasture  their  hobbled  horses.  Bridges  are  gen¬ 
erally  poor  and  feared  by  Russians.  They  have  an  evil 
reputation,  not  only  from  the  fear  of  broken  bones,  but 
also  because  they  used  to  be  lurking-places  for  highway 
robbers.  For  that  reason  many  Russians  cross  them¬ 
selves  before  venturing  on  a  bridge.  Between  the  large 
cities  there  are  roads  laid  out  on  generous  lines  by  the 
military  power.  They  stretch  out  in  broad,  white  lines 
across  boundless  plains,  wide  enough  for  a  half  dozen 
teams  to  pass.  These  roads  are  part  of  a  gigantic  scheme 
which  will  one  day  be  realized,  as  good  highways  are 
necessary  in  a  land  that  depends  on  military  power.  But 
many  of  the  roads  once  constructed  so  well  are  in  a  bad 
state  of  preservation.  From  Warsaw  to  St.  Petersburg, 
then  Moscow,  Kiev  and  Warsaw,  there  is  a  fair  road 
for  automobiling,  and  in  the  Crimea  will  be  found  the 
best  roads  of  all. 

Very  often  one  will  meet  pilgrims  on  the  highway, 
who  are  begging  their  way  to  some  shrine ;  or  it  may 
be  to  Siberia  where  the  pilgrim  warjts  to  go,  as  he  says 
he  can  get  free  land  there.  Some  have  made  a  vow  to 
collect  enough  money  to  build  a  church,  or  they  may 
collect  it  on  a  commission  basis.  The  public  inns,  called 
traktirs,  are  uncleanly  places,  frequently  with  not  even 
a  bed  to  sleep  in,  for  the  moujiks  and  teamsters  spread 
their  blankets  over  the  hay  or  any  other  available  place. 
Drunken  peasants  also  make  rest  almost  impossible.  One 
will  see  big  fields  of  sunflowers,  for  the  Russian  peasants 
nibble  sunflower  seeds  all  their  spare  time.  In  the  thea¬ 
tre,  office,  shop,  streets,  everywhere,  girls  and  boys,  men 
and  women,  bite  at  these  little  black  seeds.  It  takes  thou- 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance  405 


sands  of  acres  to  supply  this  demand.  The  sight  of  a 
big  field  of  yellow  sunflowers  is  quite  striking,  and  even 
impressive.  It  is  said  to  be  a  very  profitable  crop.  At 
almost  every  street  corner  in  cities  women  or  men  will 
be  seen  with  baskets  of  seeds  for  sale. 

As  might  be  expected  in  an  empire  of  such  magnitude, 
the  foreign  trade  reaches  big  figures.  From  1900  to  1910 
the  exports  were  doubled,  and  the  imports  increased 
seventy-three  per  cent.  For  the  year  1910,  the  last  year 
for  which  statistics  are  available,  the  exports  amounted 
to  $710,000,000,  and  the  imports  $542,000,000.  Ger¬ 
many  has  the  lead  in  the  imports,  having  easily  sup¬ 
planted  Great  Britain,  which  country  had  been  at  the 
head  from  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth  down  to  fifty 
years  ago.  Whereas  Great  Britain’s  exports  to  Russia 
have  but  little  more  than  held  their  own  in  the  last  decade 
and  a  half,  Germany’s  exports  have  almost  quadrupled, 
and  now  aggregate  $220,000,000.  The  United  States 
now  stands  third  on  the  list,  with  exports  of  about 
$80,000,000  for  that  year,  but  is  now  a  close  rival  for 
second  place.  The  bulk  of  these  imports  from  the 
United  States  is  cotton,  and  second  comes  agricultural 
machinery.  The  American  Consul-General  told  me  that 
many  articles  manufactured  in  the  United  States  went 
in  as  German  goods,  because  sent  through  German 
houses.  If  these  were  correctly  reported,  the  relative 
position  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  might 
be  changed. 

Russian  exports  consist  almost  wholly  of  agricultural 
products  and  timber.  Grain  alone  constitutes  one-half. 
Timber  is  a  large  item,  amounting  to  $70,000,000,  while 
dairy  products,  such  as  butter  and  eggs,  are  of  great 
value.  Eggs  alone  to  the  value  of  $35,000,000  were  ex¬ 
ported  in  1910,  most  of  them  going  to  England  and  Ger- 


406  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


many.  An  average  of  $5,000,000  in  furs,  in  their  un¬ 
dressed  state,  is  also  sent  to  London  and  Hamburg.  Rus¬ 
sia  then  buys  many  of  them  back  in  their  perfected  con¬ 
dition.  The  export  of  the  sable,  the  most  valuable  of 
the  furs,  has  been  prohibited  until  1917.  Farms  have 
been  established  in  a  number  of  places  in  Siberia  for  the 
raising  of  fur-bearing  animals. 

The  import  duties  on  most  articles  are  very  high.  This 
makes  the  indirect  tax  upon  the  poor  peasants  a  grievous 
burden.  They  have  been  going  up,  too.  Within  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century  the  tax  on  tea  has  increased  fully 
threefold.  Because  of  the  tax  on  petroleum  the  price 
for  that  article  is  several  times  what  it  would  be  other¬ 
wise.  Sugar  likewise  bears  a  heavy  burden.  Thus  it 
is  that  in  the  common  necessities  the  peasant  pays  im¬ 
mense  sums  to  the  government,  most  of  which  goes  to 
maintain  the  system  by  which  he  is  deprived  of  his  priv¬ 
ileges  of  liberty. 

The  total  revenue  of  Russia  for  1910  was  about 
$1,500,000,000.  One-fourth  of  this  comes  from  the 
liquor  monopoly,  and  about  one-eighteenth  from  the 
import  duties.  About  one-half  of  the  total  sum  ex¬ 
pended  for  purely  governmental  purposes  goes  to  the 
army,  navy  and  police,  while  another  quarter  goes  to 
pay  the  interest  on  the  enormous  national  debt.  The 
public  debt  on  January  1st,  1911,  amounted  to 
$4,680,000,000. 

The  value  of  the  rouble  used  to  vary  from  thirty- 
eight  cents  to  sixty-six  cents,  and  the  fluctuations  were 
so  frequent  that  merchants  were  often  at  their  wits’  end 
to  meet  the  conditions  of  exchange.  Count  Witte  at¬ 
tacked  this  evil  while  in  office,  and  established  a  stable 
currency  on  a  gold  basis,  and  fixed  the  value  of  the  rouble 
at  fifty-two  cents,  so  that  its  variation  to-day  is  very 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance  407 


slight.  The  liquor  traffic  was  made  a  government  mon¬ 
opoly,  on  the  theory  that  in  that  way  the  consumption  of 
it  might  be  reduced.  The  decline  has  been  very  little 
indeed,  but  it  has  proved  a  great  revenue  producer. 

Russian  statesmen  have  energetically  tried  to  lift  the 
country  out  of  its  absolute  dependence  upon  agriculture. 
Peter  the  Great  was  the  first  far-seeing  statesman  to  see 
this  need.  A  number  of  the  emperors  have  worked  hard, 
if  not  wisely,  toward  this  end.  Another  reason  for  this 
effort  has  been  the  absolute  necessity  of  finding  employ¬ 
ment  for  the  surplus  population,  and  it  is  really  a  serious 
problem.  Manufacturers  have  been  exempted  from 
taxes,  and  even  military  service,  and  have  been  granted 
other  material  favours.  Thus  in  many  ways  manufac¬ 
turing  industries  have  been  fostered.  The  art  of  cotton¬ 
spinning  and  cotton-weaving  has  taken  deep  root,  and 
now  employs  several  hundred  thousand  hands.  It  has 
laid  the  foundation  for  a  number  of  colossal  fortunes, 
some  of  the  owners  of  which  were  formerly  serfs.  The 
iron  industry  has  likewise  grown  to  great  dimensions. 
This  has  all  been  done  through  the  fostering  influence 
of  a  high  protective  tariff. 

The  tariff  wall  is  as  complete  and  high  as  it  has  ever 
been  in  the  United  States.  Should  Russia  abandon  her 
tariff,  it  is  doubtful  if  many  of  her  factories  could  sur¬ 
vive  that  catastrophe  many  years.  The  man  who  did 
the  most  to  develop  manufacturing  in  recent  years  was 
doubtless  M.  Witte,  who  served  as  Minister  of  Finance 
from  1890  to  1903.  His  aim  was  to  emancipate  Russia 
from  her  dependence  on  other  nations  by  creating  native 
industries  sufficient  to  supply  all  her  own  wants.  To 
this  end  he  devoted  untiring  efforts.  Foreign  capital  was 
invited  in,  and  many  new  establishments  set  up.  But 
an  over-production  at  one  time,  and  the  labour  disturb- 


408  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ances  following  shortly  after,  seriously  crippled  the  ad¬ 
vance  that  had  been  made.  The  efforts  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  are  to  be  commended,  however,  for  something 
must  be  done  to  better  the  conditions  of  millions  of  peas¬ 
ants  who  now  have  only  a  bare  existence.  But  it  will  be 
a  long  time  before  Russia  will  compete  with  other  na¬ 
tions  in  outside  markets. 

Wages  in  Russia  are  very  low.  In  St.  Petersburg 
common  labour  receives  about  forty  cents  a  day,  and  a 
carpenter  seventy  cents  —  and  living  is  high.  Further¬ 
more,  the  long  winters  make  it  impossible  to  work  out¬ 
doors  for  many  months.  At  Moscow  the  monthly  earn¬ 
ings  of  a  factory  hand  are  from  five  to  eight  dollars  a 
month,  and  the  women  about  one-third  less.  In  the 
western  part  of  the  country  wages  are  higher.  The 
hours  of  labour  are  long,  from  ten  to  eleven  and  a  half 
hours.  Fines  sometimes  eat  up  a  part  of  the  low  wages. 
Workmen  may  be  fined  for  defective  work,  absence  with¬ 
out  sufficient  cause,  and  any  infraction  of  the  shop  reg¬ 
ulations.  The  fine  must  not  exceed  one  rouble  for  each 
offence,  and  the  total  must  not  consume  more  than  one- 
third  his  wages.  The  fines  do  not  go  to  the  employer, 
but  form  a  special  fund  for  the  benefit  of  the  workmen, 
such  as  to  relieve  their  financial  distress  or  aid  in  case 
of  sickness.  Many  factories  build  barracks  for  their  em¬ 
ployees.  Although  wages  are  low,  it  does  not  necessarily 
mean  that  the  Russian  labourer  is  cheap,  for  his  work¬ 
ing  ability  is  likewise  small.  It  would  take  probably  three 
times  as  many  hands  to  turn  out  the  same  amount  of 
work  as  in  the  United  States.  The  employees  are  usu¬ 
ally  paid  by  piece  work,  as  it  has  been  found  that  a  fixed 
wage  per  day  tends  to  laziness.  The  labourer  is  sub¬ 
missive,  quick  to  learn  and  good-natured,  but  can  waste 
more  time  than  any  other  nationality. 


Nicholas  II  and  His  Inheritance  409 


The  employee  must  be  given  all  the  holidays  of  his 
church,  whether  it  be  Orthodox  or  otherwise.  If  a  fac¬ 
tory  employs  a  thousand  hands,  it  must  maintain  a  hos¬ 
pital  of  at  least  ten  beds.  Damages  for  the  death  of  a 
workman  are  paid  to  those  of  his  family  who  are  most 
needy.  But  the  laws  are  being  constantly  changed  and 
modified,  as  the  members  of  the  Bureaucracy  deem  ad¬ 
visable. 

The  income  of  the  peasant  agriculturalist  is  likewise 
small.  Investigators  have  reported  that  the  average 
peasant  family  will  not  have  an  income  to  exceed  $100 
a  year,  and  many  only  $50.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the 
peasant  must  drink  his  tea  very  weak,  and  without  much 
sugar.  The  crude  wagons  used  by  the  average  peasant 
cost  about  $5.00  and  some  only  half  that  much,  and  the 
common  plough  about  $2.50.  It  can  easily  be  seen  that 
most  of  them  are  obliged  to  get  along  with  the  very 
crudest  machinery  and  farming  implements.  The  aver¬ 
age  monthly  wage  of  a  farm  labourer  in  the  government 
of  Poltava,  for  instance,  is  $3.06,  and  for  the  entire  year, 
$29.46.  This  is  probably  less  than  one-sixth  the  wages 
of  the  same  class  of  labourers  in  the  United  States.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  every  member  of  the  family  is  com¬ 
pelled  to  work.  The  women  during  the  summer  season 
will  toil  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hours  a  day  in  the  fields, 
besides  doing  their  housework.  The  latter  must  neces¬ 
sarily  be  much  slighted  at  such  times. 

The  natural  wealth  of  Russia  is  colossal.  It  awaits 
that  development  which  only  capital  and  business  energy 
can  give.  The  possibilities  of  Siberia  alone  are  not  yet 
dreamed  of.  The  near  future  will  witness  a  development 
there  as  amazing  as  that  of  Western  Canada  during  the 
past  decade  and  a  half.  For  the  building  of  railways, 
the  construction  of  engineering  works,  municipal  devel- 


410  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


opment,  the  extension  of  industries,  and  the  exploitation 
of  its  great  mineral  wealth,  the  Empire  of  the  Czar  offers 
unlimited  opportunities  for  the  future.  It  behooves  the 
merchants  of  the  United  States  to  keep  this  fact  prom¬ 
inently  before  them. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


NIHILISM  AND  REVOLUTION 

Origin  of  Nihilism  —  Government  Aroused — Terrorism  and  Its  Outcome — 
Assassination  of  the  Czar  —  Reaction  —  Labour  Troubles  —  “  Po¬ 
groms  ”  —  Zemstvo  Congress  and  Its  Demands  —  Father  Gapon  — 
“  Bloody  Sunday  ”  —  Disturbances  in  Moscow  —  Murders  and  Exe¬ 
cutions  —  Era  of  Assassination  —  Plehve  —  Grand  Duke  Sergius  — 
Czar’s  Manifesto  —  Stolypin. 

In  order  to  fully  understand  the  recent  political  dis¬ 
turbances  in  Russia,  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back  a  half- 
century.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  one  might  go  back  still 
further,  for  the  Russian  revolutionists  of  the  ’sixties  were 
simply  putting  in  practice  the  teachings  of  a  previous 
generation  of  socialistic  writers  and  philosophers.  Some 
date  the  growth  of  liberalism  from  the  return  of  the 
Russian  armies  after  the  defeat  of  Napoleon.  These 
men,  who  had  personally  come  in  contact  with  Western 
Europeans,  went  home  and  told  of  what  they  had  seen. 
These  events  spoke  louder  than  any  human  voice  or  pen. 

The  increasing  enthusiasm  for  reform  in  the  early 
days  of  Alexander  II  did  not  confine  itself  to  the  eman¬ 
cipation  of  the  serfs.  On  the  contrary,  this  reform  move 
gave  occasion  for  the  wildest  aspirations.  The  depres¬ 
sion,  dissatisfaction  and  discontent  that  followed  shat¬ 
tered  hopes  gave  birth  to  a  spirit  of  fatalism  which  cul¬ 
minated  in  what  is  generally  known  as  Nihilism.  The 
Russian  temperament  easily  goes  to  extremes.  This 
movement  originally  was  an  exaggerated  form  of  so¬ 
cialism.  It  was  a  transplanted  product,  —  a  sort  of  sec- 

411 


412  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


ond-hand  French  doctrine,  —  which  acquired  a  truly 
Russian  phase.  These  Western  ideas  found  fertile  soil 
in  Russia.  Both  peasants  and  the  landed  classes  were 
dissatisfied,  and  socialism  was  closely  allied  to  the  pa¬ 
ternal  form  of  government. 

The  first  movement  sprang  not  from  the  people,  but 
from  the  gentry.  Young  men  and  women  of  the  highest 
aristocratic  families  joined  its  ranks.  With  many  it  was 
little  more  than  a  “  fad,  a  diversion  out  of  the  ordinary. 
Towering  above  these,  however,  an  increasing  numbei 
of  energetic  and  sincere  adherents  to  the  new  teaching 
was  growing  up.  To  live  for  the  people  was  an  ideal. 
It  became  a  disease,  a  pestilence,  that  was  inevitably 
bound  to  grow  and  thrive  in  the  unhealthy  political  at¬ 
mosphere  and  unsanitary  moral  conditions  of  the  coun¬ 
try.  The  reformers  thought  that  Russia  might  be  rad¬ 
ically  transformed,  politically  and  socially,  according  to 
the  abstract  theory  of  philosophers,  in  a  few  years.  Rus¬ 
sia  would  profit  by  all  the  errors  of  her  sisters,  and  leap 
at  once  into  the  millennium.  Had  not  socialistic  writers 
like  Comte,  Marx,  John  Stuart  Mill,  and  other  philoso¬ 
phers,  pointed  the  way? 

Nihilism  found  its  warmest  partisans  among  students 
and  young  literary  workers.  For  that  reason  the  usual 
term  applied  to  this  class  is  the  “  Intelligents,”  as  though 
the  rest  of  the  nation  was  devoid  of  intelligence.  As  a 
first  step  to  show  their  contempt  for  conventionalities 
the  men  wore  their  hair  long,  and  the  women  cut  theirs 
short.  They  proposed  to  get  rid  of  much  crime  and 
misery  by  the  abolishment  of  marriage  and  private  prop¬ 
erty.  Men  and  women  —  and  there  were  many  of  the 

latter _ gloried  in  their  Bohemianism,  and  despised 

conventional  respectability.  The  irregularity  of  life  of 
this  class  is  a  commonplace  all  over  Russia,  and  is  as 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


413 


frankly  admitted  by  themselves.  They  say  that  what  is 
natural  cannot  be  wrong.  Because  a  belief  in  God  and 
a  future  life  had  demoralized  the  people,  they  became 
materialists  and  atheists.  The  new  dogma  became  a 
religion  with  them.  It  left  no  room  for  the  Almighty. 
Man  must  be  supreme  and  seek  pleasure  wherever  he 
can  find  it. 

Rarely  have  the  inconsistencies  of  human  nature  been 
better  exemplified  than  in  the  lives  of  these  would-be 
reformers,  who  were  really  fanatics.  They  were  sincere, 
however,  believing  in  themselves  and  their  theories,  and 
were  willing  to  die  for  either.  The  stage  villain  should 
not  be  taken  as  the  type  of  the  Nihilist,  for  he  is  the  an¬ 
tithesis  of  that  creature  of  fiction.  Living  continually  in 
a  world  of  theory,  these  reformers  were  willing  to  do 
anything  to  destroy  existing  conditions,  and  thus  realize 
their  crude  notions  of  social  and  political  regeneration. 
Literature  that  could  be  read  “  between  the  lines  ”  by 
those  who  understood  began  to  appear,  having  success¬ 
fully  passed  the  press  censors. 

So  long  as  the  movement  consisted  only  of  academic 
discussion  the  government  did  not  interfere.  As  early 
as  1862,  however,  fiery  proclamations  began  to  appear. 
Repressive  measures  were  at  once  adopted  by  the  au¬ 
thorities.  The  government  failed  to  realize  that  a  ra¬ 
tional  remedy  might  have  been  found  in  a  measure  of 
responsibility,  for  Nihilism  is  a  product  of  the  mistakes 
of  autocracy.  All  organizations  where  it  was  believed 
revolutionary  propaganda  was  practised  were  ruthlessly 
suppressed.  Many  arrests  were  made  and  suspects  de¬ 
ported.  It  is  not  easy  to  convert  an  autocracy  to  such 
Utopian  schemes  of  government.  The  repressive  meas¬ 
ures  were  undoubtedly  too  severe.  Thousands  of  youth¬ 
ful  students  of  both  sexes  were  secretly  arrested  and 


414  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


exiled  to  distant  provinces.  The  allowance  granted  them 
was  a  mere  pittance,  barely  enough  to  keep  soul  and  body 
together.  The  curriculums  of  the  universities  were  care¬ 
fully  censored.  Even  private  tutors  were  required  to 
have  a  certificate  of  character  and  “  political  trustworthi¬ 
ness  ”  from  one  of  the  universities.  A  number  of  peri¬ 
odicals  were  suppressed,  and  the  censorship  made  more 
severe.  Alexander  feared  that  he  had  gone  too  far  in 
his  policy  of  radical  reform.  He  issued  a  proclamation 
that  law,  property  and  religion  were  in  danger. 

Then  began  another  phase  of  this  movement.  Many 
students  went  abroad  to  continue  their  studies  in  foreign 
universities.  Most  of  them  went  to  Zurich,  for  women 
were  admitted  to  medical  classes  there.  Here  they  met 
many  noted  socialists  and  not  a  few  anarchists.  These 
students  formed  themselves  into  bands  of  professional 
revolutionists.  They  decided  to  indoctrinate  the  masses 
of  Russia.  They  settled  in  villages  as  school  teachers 
and  medical  practitioners.  Many  of  the  propagandists 
learned  trades  in  order  to  be  independent.  The  purpose 
was  to  carry  through  a  social  revolution  without  any 
bloodshed.  The  avowed  aim  of  these  propagandists  was 
to  destroy  all  existing  social  conditions,  and  replace  them 
with  one  in  which  there  would  be  no  private  property  and 
no  distinctions  of  class  or  wealth.  Much  revolutionary 
literature  was  surreptitiously  distributed.  Most  of  the 
agitators  displayed  more  zeal  than  discretion.  Their 
ideas  were  too  abstract  for  the  moujik.  Their  proclaimed 
disinterestedness  was  inexplicable  to  him.  Their  attack 
on  religion  angered  him. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  government  began  to  seek 
out  the  leaders  of  this  new  movement.  Several  hundreds 
were  thrust  into  prison,  and  many  of  them  remained 
there  as  much  as  three  years  without  trial.  The  practical 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


415 


failure  of  this  peaceful  method  of  propaganda  forced  the 
movement  to  become  political.  It  allowed  the  more  rad¬ 
ical  leaders  to  get  in  control.  They  advocated  a  policy 
of  terrorism  to  frighten  the  government.  Those  who 
displayed  the  most  zeal  against  the  revolutionary  move¬ 
ment  were  to  be  assassinated.  Every  act  of  severity  by 
the  government  was  to  be  answered  by  an  act  of  what 
they  termed  “  revolutionary  justice.”  It  was  about  1877 
when  the  adoption  of  terrorism  was  made.  The  victims 
were  first  “  tried  ”  by  a  committee.  If  condemned  to 
death,  the  Fighting  Organization  undertook  the  execu¬ 
tion  of  the  sentence.  Very  often  volunteers  came  for¬ 
ward  and  offered  to  assassinate  the  condemned  official. 
In  1878  and  1879  a  long  series  of  terrorist  crimes  were 
committed.  In  Kharkov  the  governor  was  shot  when 
entering  his  residence;  in  St.  Petersburg  the  Chief  of 
Political  Police  was  assassinated  in  broad  daylight;  in 
Kiev  an  attempt  was  made  on  the  life  of  the  public  pros¬ 
ecutor.  The  terrorists  executed  two  of  their  own  mem¬ 
bers  for  alleged  treachery.  At  no  time  were  their  num¬ 
bers  large.  The  nation  looked  on  while  a  few  hundreds 
of  persons  employed  against  the  autocracy  an  exaggera¬ 
tion  of  its  own  worst  methods.  It  was  simply  the  guillo¬ 
tine  over  again.  Most  of  the  actual  perpetrators  of  the 
crimes  escaped,  but  hundreds  of  arrests  were  made  by 
the  zeal  of  the  authorities. 

Driven  to  desperation,  the  terrorists  solemnly  decided 
that  the  Czar  himself  must  be  killed.  They  thought  that 
autocracy  would  be  destroyed  by  the  death  of  the  Auto¬ 
crat.  Public  proclamations  were  posted,  in  which  the 
death  of  Alexander  was  decreed  unless  certain  specified 
reforms  were  granted.  The  first  attempt  was  by  a  young 
man  who  fired  several  shots  at  Alexander  as  he  was 
walking,  but  none  took  effect.  An  attempt  to  wreck  the 


416 


The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Imperial  train,  as  the  Czar  was  returning  from  the  Cri¬ 
mea,  was  also  a  failure.  One  of  the  terrorists,  who  was 
a  skilful  mechanic,  then  secured  employment  ,n  the  Win¬ 
ter  Palace.  The  idea  was  to  blow  up  the  Imperial  fam¬ 
ily  when  at  dinner.  Dynamite  was  secretly  smuggle 
into  the  palace  piece  by  piece.  When  enough  had  been 
brought  in,  the  mine  was  exploded  under  the  dining¬ 
room  at  the  regular  dining  hour.  Fortunately  on  tha 
day  the  family  did  not  sit  down  at  the  usual  time.  Bu 
ten  soldiers  were  killed  and  half  a  hundred  wounded. 
Alexander  then  tried  a  conciliatory  policy,  but  nothing 
except  his  death  would  satisfy.  Alexander  was  in  he 
habit  of  reviewing  some  troops  on  Sundays  during  e 
winter  months.  The  streets  by  which  he  might  return 
were  undermined  in  two  places,  and  on  an  alterna tire 
route  conspirators  with  bombs  were  statione  .  y 
route  Alexander  returned.  At  a  signal  given  by  a  woman 
the  first  bomb  was  thrown  by  a  student.  The  Czar  was 
uninjured,  but  some  members  of  his  escort  were  wounded 
He  got  out  to  examine  their  injuries,  when  the  second 
bomb  was  thrown,  which  resulted  in  his  death. 

This  act  of  terrorism  had  the  opposite  effect  from 
what  had  been  anticipated.  Many  sympathizers  were 
horrified  when  even  the  sacred  person  of  the  Czar  was 
not  respected.  The  police,  aided  by  some  informe  , 
arrested  many  leaders  of  the  movement.  Its  own  mem¬ 
bers  were  alienated  by  the  despotic  action  of  the  leader  . 
They  were  as  arbitrary  and  inconsiderate  as  the  autoc¬ 
racy  itself.  Socialist  youths  saw  that  they  were  only 
tools  of  the  ambitious  leaders.  Mutual  recriminations 
arose  and  many  facts  became  public.  A  few  of  the  mote 
honest  leaders  saw  what  a  horrible  mistake  had  been 
committed,  and  made  their  peace  with  the  governmen^ 
Alexander  III  was  no  coward,  and  refused  to  concede 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


417 


the  demands  urged  upon  him  by  the  Nihilists.  Russia 
at  once  plunged  into  a  period  of  retrogression.  He  at¬ 
tempted  to  replace  the  voice  of  the  people  by  his  own 
assiduous  attention  to  their  needs.  Occasional  acts  of 
terrorism  occurred  at  spasmodic  intervals,  but,  in  general, 
during  the  reign  of  Alexander  III,  the  reactionary  forces 
were  absolutely  in  control.  There  were  two  conspiracies 
against  that  Emperor,  but  they  were  abortive. 

Another  phase  of  the  revolutionary  movement  began 
to  develop.  Cooler  heads  came  into  control.  They  saw 
that  the  socialist  ideal  could  not  be  realized  by  conspiracy 
and  murder.  The  aim  now  took  the  form  of  a  movement 
for  political  freedom  and  a  national  assembly.  The  ulti¬ 
mate  end  was  the  same,  but  the  methods  were  very 
different.  The  development  of  manufacturing  had  in¬ 
creased  the  urban  population.  Many  of  the  factory 
workers  had  abandoned  their  villages.  Socialistic  prop¬ 
agandists  became  numerous.  They  found  the  peasant 
workman  a  better  subject  than  the  village  moujik.  The 
agitators  soon  found  that  the  workmen  were  discontented 
over  factory  conditions  and  the  low  wages.  Here  was 
fertile  ground,  and  advantage  was  taken  of  it. 

In  1894  labour  troubles  arose  and  a  number  of  strikes 
followed,  especially  in  St.  Petersburg.  Some  thirty  thou¬ 
sand  workmen  struck  as  a  protest  against  the  food  regu¬ 
lations  in  their  factories.  The  government  was  much 
frightened  by  the  energy  and  solidarity  of  the  workmen. 
These  first  strikes  were  generally  successful,  as  the  gov¬ 
ernment  was  unprepared  to  meet  them.  The  agitators 
shrewdly  added  political  discontent  to  the  labour  unrest. 
During  the  coronation  ceremonies  of  1896  many  thou¬ 
sands  went  on  strike.  Although  violence  was  advised 
against,  it  followed.  This  time  the  men  were  compelled 
to  go  back  to  work  by  starvation,  but  the  unrest  contin- 


418  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


Ued.  Nicholas  II  had  disappointed  all  by  his  reply  to 
a  deputation  of  the  Zemstvo,  when  he  told  them  that 
their  demands,  which  were  exceedingly  moderate,  were 
senseless  dreams.  In  1898  there  was  another  great  but 
unsuccessful  strike  in  a  number  of  large  factories.  T  is 
form  of  protest  reached  Rostov-on-Don  1111902.  At  er 
a  few  days  of  the  strike,  cries  of  “  Down  with  the  Czar 
beo-an  to  be  heard.  Strikes  in  Odessa,  Kiev  and  Central 
Russia  came  along  in  quick  succession.  The  workmen 
seemed  to  arise  with  a  common  purpose  in  the  great  man 
ufacturing  cities.  The  government  had  the  ability  of 
extinguishing  these  intermittent  bonfires  one  by  one,  u 
the  very  persistence  with  which  they  appeared  showed 
how  deep  and  general  was  the  discontent  of  the 

1)6  However  much  one  may  decry  violence  in  any  form, 
it  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  men  involved  in  t  is 
movement.  At  any  moment  they  might  be  called  upon 
to  prove  their  faith  by  the  threat  of  death.  Their  meet¬ 
ings  were  marked  by  an  earnestness  never  found  excep 
where  the  feeling  is  tense.  In  their  speeches  there  was 
a  high  level  of  thought,  even  though  somewhat  idealistic. 
Russia  seemed  to  have  become  a  nation  of  orators.  s 
a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  the  intensity  of  conviction  an 
sense  of  present  wrong  that  converted  inexperienced  men 
into  effective  writers  and  speakers.  As  is  usual  in  re¬ 
form  movements,  factions  arose  among  the  ref°™ers  as 
to  methods  and  objects  to  be  arrived  at  With  their 
actions  one’s  heart  is  oftentimes  in  sympathy  but  one 
head,  opposed  to  killing  and  the  destruction  of  property, 

is  at  variance. 

The  year  1905  will  long  be  remembered  as  a  momen¬ 
tous  period  in  Russian  history.  In  every  section  a 
visited  I  heard  from  eye-witnesses  the  news 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


419 


uprisings,  but  space  forbids  more  than  a  generalizing  of 
the  facts  and  the  causes  that  led  to  such  a  condition  of 
affairs.  It  was  an  occasion  of  unrest  such  as  Russia  had 
not  passed  through  for  several  generations.  Civil  war, 
mutiny,  anarchy,  riots,  terrorism,  and  three  years  of 
tumultuous  disorder  were  inaugurated  in  that  year,  or 
rather  in  November,  1904.  The  reactionary  policy  of 
Plehve  exasperated  public  discontent  without  relieving 
the  evils  that  caused  it.  The  “  pogroms  ”  at  Kishinev 
and  Homel,  and  other  anti- Jewish  outbreaks,  threw  the 
Jewish  element  into  the  arms  of  the  revolution.  The 
Jewish  Bund  was  a  logical  outcome,  and  it  soon  be¬ 
came  thoroughly  saturated  with  the  revolutionary 
spirit. 

The  movement  was  fostered,  perhaps,  or  at  least  en¬ 
couraged,  by  the  war  with  Japan.  Although  this  con¬ 
flict  might  not  be  called  an  unpopular  war,  it  was  deci¬ 
dedly  not  a  popular  one.  It  did  not  especially  appeal  to 
the  patriotic  sense  of  the  people,  and  the  bureaucracy  was 
blamed  for  this  affliction.  There  was  no  feeling  over  the 
prospect  of  losing  Manchuria,  and  the  conflict  was  looked 
upon  as  the  Czar’s  war.  In  fact,  this  war  seemed  to 
disturb  the  main  body  of  Russians  less  than  other  na¬ 
tions,  except  as  their  sons  were  drawn  into  the  army. 
The  continuous  disasters  that  befell  the  Russian  arms 
did  not  arouse  the  patriotism  to  any  great  extent,  but 
the  policy  of  repression  of  the  real  news,  and  colouring 
of  what  did  appear  in  the  press,  worked  still  more  harm. 
News  of  victory  to  Russian  arms  would  gradually  be 
changed  to  reports  of  disaster.  The  people  chafed  under 
this  policy  of  misrepresentation,  and  discontent  increased 
in  all  parts  of  the  Empire.  The  news  of  the  naval  dis¬ 
aster  of  Tsushima  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  from  a  clear 
sky.  The  feeling  was  accentuated  by  the  fact  that  the 


420  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


government  had  postponed  the  publication  of  the  facts 
for  several  days.  A  chorus  of  indignation  arose  all  over 
Russia. 

By  this  time  there  were  two  forces  again  at  work  — 
the  advocates  of  peaceful  evolution  and  the  radicals.  An 
organization  sprang  into  existence  that  did  not  frown 
upon  violence  in  any  form,  which  had  for  its  ultimate 
aim  the  transfer  of  the  political  authority  from  an  auto¬ 
crat  to  the  people.  It  aimed  to  spread  the  unrest  among 
the  agricultural  peasants,  as  well  as  factory  workers. 
“  One  of  the  powerful  means  of  struggle,  dictated  by  our 
revolutionary  past  and  present,”  says  a  pamphlet  pub¬ 
lished  at  this  time,  “  is  political  terrorism,  consisting  of 
the  annihilation  of  the  most  injurious  and  influential  per¬ 
sonages  of  Russian  autocracy.”  A  militant  organiza¬ 
tion  was  again  formed,  while  weapons  and  bombs  were 
gathered  to  be  ready  for  emergencies. 

The  Zemstvo  Congress  of  November  19,  1904,  adopted 
eleven  points  in  its  petition  to  the  throne.  Most  of  these 
related  to  the  personal  freedom  of  the  individual,  such 
as  equal  rights  for  all  citizens  and  the  abolishment  of 
passports,  freedom  from  the  arbitrary  control  of  officials, 
freedom  of  the  press  and  public  meetings,  the  calling  of 
some  kind  of  a  national  assembly,  and  the  principle  that 
the  Czar  must  be  brought  into  closer  personal  contact 
with  the  people.  These  demands,  modestly  stated,  repre¬ 
sented  the  beginning  of  aspirations  among  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  people.  The  Emperor  called  a  meeting  of  his 
chief  counsellors.  The  opponents  of  liberalism  won  the 
day,  and  public  meetings  followed  in  various  places  to 
protest.  Meetings  of  lawyers,  doctors  and  other  pro¬ 
fessional  men  were  turned  into  protest  meetings.  The 
government  forcibly  prevented  many,  and  in  other  in¬ 
stances  vented  its  displeasure  by  fining  the  keepers  of 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


421 


restaurants  where  such  meetings  took  place.  Resolu¬ 
tions  were  generally  adopted  without  dissent  and  sent  to 
the  palace. 

The  very  fact  that  the  professional  unit  could  thus  be 
used,  that  all  doctors  or  all  lawyers  could  be  unanimous 
on  a  political  question,  revealed  forcibly  that  the  gov¬ 
ernment  was  entirely  out  of  touch  with  the  nation.  It 
showed  that  the  vast  majority  of  intelligent  opinion  had 
formed  itself  into  line  under  the  banner  of  the  eleven 
points  of  the  Zemstvo  petition.  The  repression  of  such 
meetings  resulted  in  street  demonstrations,  and  the  in¬ 
evitable  clash  with  the  police  or  military.  An  Imperial 
edict  was  issued  which  promised  reforms,  but,  as  usual, 
the  wording  was  very  indefinite.  A  little  sop  in  the  shape 
of  minor  reforms  was  thrown  out.  At  the  same  time, 
Nicholas  took  the  pains  to  reassert  the  Imperial  author¬ 
ity,  and  to  condemn  the  leaders  of  the  assault  on  autoc¬ 
racy.  The  Technical  Congress  in  Moscow  was  closed, 
another  congress  in  Tiflis  was  suppressed,  and  various 
other  high-handed  incidents  occurred  about  the  time  Port 
Arthur  was  surrendered  to  the  Japanese  by  General 
Stoessel.  The  workmen  were  restless  because  wages 
were  still  low.  The  formation  of  trade  unions  was  un¬ 
lawful,  though  a  certain. leniency  had  recently  been  mani¬ 
fested. 

About  this  time  a  priest,  somewhat  of  a  mysterious 
personage,  known  as  Father  Gapon,  had  become  the 
leader  of  the  workingmen.  He  was  an  ordained  priest, 
but  did  not  belong  to  that  caste.  His  was  a  purely  eco¬ 
nomic  movement,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to  judge.  If 
there  was  a  political  turn,  it  could  not  at  first  be  dis¬ 
tinguished.  Father  Gapon  had  been  serving  as  chaplain 
in  a  convict  prison.  With  the  approval  of  the  authorities, 
he  became  president  of  a  large  club  of  factory  hands  in 


422  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


St.  Petersburg,  called  the  Society  of  Russian  Workmen. 
He  gained  the  confidence  of  the  workingmen  by  his  great 
personal  magnetism.  While  1905  was  yet  young  a  spirit 
of  discontent  arose  in  St.  Petersburg,  and  strikes  spread 
like  wild-fire.  Gapon  acted  as  a  mediator,  but  without 
result,  as  the  agitators  added  impossible  conditions.  At 
first  political  subjects  were  absolutely  eliminated.  But 
the  movement  got  beyond  the  conservatives,  and  social¬ 
ism  was  freely  talked.  Some  say  that  Gapon  himself 
played  a  double  game  and  that,  relying  on  the  protection 
of  the  police,  he  skilfully  led  his  followers  into  the  chan¬ 
nel  of  Socialism.  It  is  a  fact  that  orators  skilfully  turned 
sentiment  against  the  Czar,  by  saying  that  he  was  re¬ 
sponsible  for  the  evil  conditions.  Gapon  had  confined 
all  his  own  talks  to  local  grievances  and  material  wants. 
Gapon  at  last  began  to  yield  openly  to  the  extremists. 
He  sought  to  defend  the  Czar,  however,  but  not  Bureau¬ 
cracy. 

Gapon  was  determined  to  present  a  petition  to  the 
Czar.  The  common  Russian  term  for  the  Czar  is  “  Little 
Father,”  for  in  such  a  relation  do  they  consider  him. 
The  right  of  direct  appeal  has  from  ancient  times  been 
considered  an  inalienable  right.  “  I  have  one  hundred 
thousand  workmen,”  he  wrote,  “  and  I  am  going  with 
them  to  the  Palace  to  present  a  petition.  If  it  is  not 
granted,  we  shall  make  a  revolution.”  The  movement 
was  not  only  ill  advised,  but  without  definite  plan  in  case 
of  failure.  Imperious  letters  were  addressed  to  the  min¬ 
istry  and  the  Czar.  The  Czar  indignantly  declined  to 
accede  to  the  request  for  a  public  meeting  to  discuss 
grievances.  Instead,  the  Little  Father  fled  to  his  subur¬ 
ban  palace  in  deadly  fear.  It  was  an  unfortunate  move 
on  his  part,  for  he  might  easily  have  disassociated  the 
economic  demands  from  the  political.  The  very  fact 


Nihilism  and  Revolution  423 


of  having  an  interview  with  the  Czar  would  probably 
have  either  awed  or  satisfied  all  but  the  extremists. 

The  contrary  course  was  taken  by  the  Little  Father 
of  all  the  Russians.  Orders  were  given  to  the  police  and 
troops  to  prevent  the  meeting,  and  to  keep  the  crowds 
of  workmen  in  the  suburbs  from  penetrating  the  centre 
of  the  city.  Gapon’s  followers,  about  fifteen  thousand 
workmen,  had  been  divided  into  sections.  A  march  to 
the  Winter  Palace  was  arranged  under  a  leader  for  each 
section.  Bands  of  workmen  began  to  march  in  the  sub¬ 
urbs,  and  converge  toward  the  town  residence  of  Nicho¬ 
las,  on  Sunday,  January  22nd  —  January  9th  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  calendar.  All  were  dressed  in  their  Sunday  clothes. 
In  front  marched  Father  Gapon  and  two  other  priests 
wearing  vestments.  With  them  went  the  icons,  or  holy 
pictures  of  shining  brass  and  silver,  and  a  portrait  of 
the  Czar.  As  the  procession  moved  along  they  sang  the 
Russian  national  songs  in  a  way  that  only  Russian 
crowds  can  sing.  There  is  a  peculiar  solemnity  in  their 
songs,  not  only  in  the  music  but  its  rendition.  It  may  be 
the  influence  of  the  church  music,  which  is  always  so 
solemn  and  grave.  They  had  been  especially  counselled 
to  come  without  any  arms,  but  “  to  die,  if  need  be,  in 
the  holy  cause.” 

Troops  had  been  posted  throughout  the  city  to  break 
up  these  bands,  and  in  some  cases  fired  upon  them. 
Father  Gapon  himself  never  reached  the  Palace.  But 
many  of  the  workmen,  augmented  by  the  usual  crowd 
of  onlookers,  did  reach  the  square  in  front  of  the  Palace. 
The  troops  were  ordered  by  the  Grand  Duke  Vladimir  to 
fire  upon  the  crowd.  They  fired  volley  after  volley  from 
three  sides,  and  the  great  square  and  adjoining  streets 
were  red  with  blood.  “  Little  boys,”  says  Mr.  Pares, 
“  who  had  climbed  the  trees  to  watch  what  was  going 


on  were  shot  down  like  birds.”  No  resistance  was  made, 

as  they  were  not  prepared  for  such  an  onslaught.  Gapon 
himself  was  only  slightly  injured  and  was  spirited  away 
to  safety.1  A  conservative  report  says  that  seventy  six 
were  killed  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  wounded. 
The  day  is  now  known  as  “  Bloody  Sunday. 

From  this  day  the  ultra-reactionary  policy  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  increased.  In  many  ways  it  is  one  of  the  land¬ 
marks  of  the  liberation  movement.  General  Trepov,  a 
former  policeman  and  son  of  a  policeman,  was  summoned 
to  the  capital,  and  was  appointed  to  the  newly  create 
office  of  Governor-General  of  St.  Petersburg  with  ex¬ 
traordinary  powers.  Later  he  became  Assistant  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  with  jurisdiction  over  all  the  police  o 
the  Empire.  He  was  even  given  the  right  of  acting  m  e 
pendently  of  his  chief,  thus  creating  a  dualism  in  t  is 
important  department  of  the  government.  He  was  a 
man  of  narrow  views  and  little  education.  The  system 
of  police  supervision  was  strengthened  to  the  highest  pos¬ 
sible  notch.  Thousands  were  arrested  and  summan  y 
convicted.  All  street  gatherings  were  forbidden, 
ferocity  of  the  government’s  vengeance  and  disregard  of 
pledges,  however,  united  the  several  parties  of  progress 
closer  than  they  had  been.  Starving  and  tattered  peas¬ 
ants  in  the  cities  without  their  passports  were  arrested 
and  imprisoned  until  they  could  be  transported  back  to 
their  villages.  Strikes  soon  followed  all  over  Russia. 
The  houses  of  managers  of  industrial  plants  were  in 
many  cases  wrecked.  Disturbances  were  particular  y 
bad  at  Warsaw,  Lodz,  and  other  industrial  centres. 

i  P, non  reanoeared  in  St.  Petersburg  near  the  close  of  1905,  but  was 

looked  upon  with  suspicion  by  the  workmen.  He  “t 

a  body  found  in  April,  .**,  was  ident.hed  as  tha t  o  the  late  pnes. 
is  supposed  that  he  was  murdered  by  members  of  that  body. 


A  POLICE  ROUND  -  UP  OF  SUSPECTS 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


425 


These  alien  parts  of  the  government  had  indeed  most 
ground  for  discontent.  In  almost  every  such  district 
there  were  special  causes  for  dissatisfaction,  and  racial 
differences  added  fuel  to  the  quarrels. 

Railway  employees,  telegraph  operators  and  postmen 
quit  work,  and  communications  were  paralyzed.  This 
prostrated  trade,  and  hindered  the  government  in  send¬ 
ing  troops  quickly  to  points  of  disturbance.  Even  sail¬ 
ors  and  gunners  at  Kronstadt  mutinied.  Each  town  for 
a  while  was  practically  isolated.  Banks  had  to  send  their 
remittances  to  the  border  by  special  messengers.  A  race 
feud  broke  out  at  Baku  and  Tiflis,  and  the  great  oil  re¬ 
fineries  at  the  former  place  were  burned.  Armenians  and 
Mussulmans  sprang  at  each  other’s  throats.  Incipient 
political  bonfires  were  burning  all  over  European  Russia. 
Everybody  was  striking  against  somebody  else.  Peas¬ 
ants  were  rebelling  against  the  landowners,  servants 
against  their  masters.  In  Moscow  the  cooks  struck  and 
paraded  the  streets  with  songs  not  heard  in  the  drawing¬ 
rooms.  Nursemaids  struck  for  Sundays  out.  School¬ 
boys  struck  for  pleasanter  lessons,  and  even  college  stu¬ 
dents  revolted  against  compulsory  Greek  or  some  other 
unpopular  subject.  It  was  simply  the  spirit  of  protest 
that  existed  everywhere.  In  the  agrarian  riots,  which 
reached  nearly  all  sections  of  the  country,  it  is  estimated 
that  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  millions  of  dollars’  worth 
of  property  belonging  to  the  landlords  was  destroyed. 
The  country  homes  were  burned,  and  the  movable  prop¬ 
erty  either  appropriated  or  destroyed.  The  families 
themselves,  or  their  servants,  were  seldom  attacked. 

Moscow  was  one  of  the  worst  centres  of  the  disturb¬ 
ances.  The  headquarters  of  the  railway  strike  were  here. 
When  the  general  strike  was  proclaimed  by  the  leaders, 
all  banks  and  business  houses  were  closed.  If  they  re- 


426  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


mained  open,  the  strikers  compelled  them  to  put  up  their 
shutters..  The  government  broke  up  meetings  of  the 
malcontents,  and  a  real  civil  war  ensued.  Armed  revo¬ 
lutionaries  took  possession  of  some  of  the  streets,  and 
erected  barricades  across  them.  Many  of  these  ob¬ 
structions  were  so  flimsy  that  a  push  would  knock 
them  over.  Tubs,  shutters,  gates,  iron  railings,  tele¬ 
graph  poles  and  front  doors  were  used  for  this  purpose. 
None  would  stop  the  bullets,  but  they  were  intended 
rather  to  impede  the  advance  of  troops,  and  especially 
of  cavalry.  Occasionally  a  carriage  or  tram-car  was 
added  to  the  pile  and  gave  a  greater  stability.  Red  flags 
flew  from  most  of  them.  Past  these  barriers  the  progress 
of  troops  was  very  slow. 

No  pitched  battles  were  fought  behind  these  barri¬ 
cades,  as  in  the  Paris  communes.  The  shooting  was  done 
from  windows,  roofs  and  other  places  of  concealment. 
The  shooters  then  fled  and  left  the  house  to  the  mercy 
of  the  police  and  soldiers.  The  soldiers  answered  by 
volleys  in  any  direction,  and  the  result  was  that  innocent 
men  and  women  blocks  away  were  the  victims.  A  band 
of  revolutionists  called  at  the  home  of  the  local  chief 
of  the  secret  police.  He  came  out  to  meet  them,  and 
was  shot  while  his  wife  and  children  were  pleading  for 
him.  To  be  caught  with  a  revolver  meant  certain  death 
in  most  instances.  The  revolutionists  knew  that  death 
would  follow  surrender,  if  they  carried  a  weapon.  Many 
had  stitched  labels  on  the  backs  of  their  clothes,  with 
their  name  and  address  thereon,  so  that  their  parents  or 
family  might  be  notified  in  case  of  sudden  death.  Thou¬ 
sands  were  killed  and  wounded  during  these  ten  days 
of  street  fighting  and  open  resistance  to  authority.  Pris¬ 
oners  were  shot  by  the  soldiers  in  batches  of  sixteen, 
twenty,  and  even  greater  numbers.  The  number  of  poor 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


427 


men  and  women  who  died  throughout  Russia  as  a  pro¬ 
test  against  despotism  will  never  be  known.  Millions 
of  dollars’  worth  of  property  were  likewise  consumed  by 
flames. 

The  Christmas  festivities  of  the  year  immediately  fol¬ 
lowed  the  government  victory  in  Moscow.  It  was  cele¬ 
brated  in  the  great  Cathedral  with  the  usual  pomp  and 
splendour,  as  though  no  human  tragedies  had  occurred. 
Following  the  collapse  of  this  uprising,  seventy-eight 
newspapers  were  suspended  and  fifty-eight  editors  im¬ 
prisoned.  A  state  of  siege  was  declared  in  sixty-two 
towns,  and  a  minor  state  of  siege  in  half  as  many  more. 
Practically  a  third  of  the  Empire  was  placed  under  mar¬ 
tial  law,  or  a  state  of  enforced  protection,  which  is  simply 
a  gradation  of  martial  law.  The  local  papers  in  every 
section  were  filled  with  accounts  of  executions  and  ter¬ 
rible  floggings.  Fourteen  hundred  “  politicals,”  so  it  is 
claimed  on  good  authority,  were  summarily  executed 
under  martial  law.  The  Russian  government  is  afraid 
to  submit  the  trial  of  a  prisoner  charged  with  offence 
against  the  State  to  a  jury,  as  no  Russian  jury  would 
ever  convict.  The  Ministers  went  down  to  Tsarskoe 
Selo,  where  the  Czar  resided,  nearly  every  day  in  a 
guarded  train,  on  a  guarded  railway,  to  consult  with  the 
doubly-guarded  Autocrat  on  methods  of  procedure. 

A  bloody  era  of  assassination  had  again  arisen.  Gen¬ 
eral  Bobrikov,  the  tyrant  Governor-General  of  Finland, 
was  assassinated  on  June  17th,  1904.  This  was  followed 
on  the  28th  of  the  following  month  by  the  death  of  M. 
Plehve,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  the  hated  foe  of 
all  reforms.  In  the  death  of  Plehve  it  was  felt  that  the 
real  Autocrat  had  fallen  before  the  bomb  of  Sazonov, 
the  regularly  appointed  agent  of  the  revolutionaries.  For 
a  quarter  of  a  century  he  had  been  one  of  the  leaders  of 


( 


428  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


reaction.  Threatened  with  death  many  times,  seeing  men 
fall  on  all  sides,  he  never  ceased  to  be  the  foe  of  progress 
and  reform.  He  was  believed  to  have  purposely  pro¬ 
voked  labour  disturbances  and  baited  the  anti-Jewish 
riots.  On  the  19th  of  January,  1905,  a  shot  was  fired 
at  the  Czar,  and  Nicholas  left  the  Winter  Palace  not  to 
return  to  St.  Petersburg  for  more  than  a  year.  There 
were  a  number  of  political  murders  in  the  Caucasus,  in¬ 
cluding  a  vice-governor,  a  chief  of  police,  an  inspector 
of  customs  and  others  in  authority.  Police  chiefs  in  Mos¬ 
cow  and  other  cities  were  murdered.  Many  policemen 
in  Odessa,  Kiev,  and  other  towns  were  secretly  shot.1 
Policemen  became  panicky,  for  they  did  not  know  at 
what  moment  their  end  would  come.  Many  officials  re¬ 
signed,  and  the  government  found  it  difficult  to  fill  their 
places.  Brave,  indeed,  was  the  man,  whether  liberal  or 
reactionary,  who  accepted  some  of  the  appointments. 

On  February  17th,  1905,  a  blow  fell  upon  the  Em¬ 
peror  himself,  which  affected  him  greatly.  His  uncle, 
the  Grand  Duke  Sergius,  was  assassinated  within  the 
Kremlin  walls  at  Moscow.  Sergius  had  been  one  of  the 
most  pronounced  reactionaries  in  Russia.  One  writer, 
familiar  with  Russian  affairs,  has  designated  Sergius  as 
the  “  most  cruel,  brutal  and  corrupt  member  of  the  royal 
family  since  Ivan  the  Terrible.”  He  had  not  hesitated 
to  say  that  “  the  people  want  the  stick.”  As  Governor- 
General  of  Moscow  he  had  been  particularly  hostile  to 
both  Jews  and  students.  When  a  merchant  of  Moscow, 
who  had  contributed  large  supplies  to  the  Red  Cross 
work,  complained  to  him  that  the  supplies  were  being 


1  “  The  revolutionists  and  other  outraged  citizens  have  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  two  years  before  July  1st,  1907,  seven  hundred  police 
officials  and  several  thousand  spies,  political  police  and  other  persons  en¬ 
gaged  in  similar  work,”  W.  E.  Walling,  in  “  Russia’s  Message.” 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


429 


sold  on  the  streets  of  Moscow,  he  was  punished.  On 
that  day  above  mentioned,  just  after  Sergius  had  passed 
through  the  dark  gateway  of  St.  Nicholas  into  the  Krem¬ 
lin,  a  young  man,  Kalayev,  who  had  undertaken  this 
assassination,  stepped  forward  and  hurled  a  bomb  at  the 
carriage.  The  Grand  Duke  was  blown  into  fragments. 
Kalayev  made  no  attempt  to  escape,  but  stood  gazing 
awe-struck  at  the  result  of  his  work.  There  was  little 
mourning  in  Moscow  over  this  death.  The  Emperor  did 
not  again  visit  Moscow  until  June,  1912,  when  he  went 
to  dedicate  the  monument  erected  to  his  father  by  pop¬ 
ular  subscription. 

It  is  significant  that  on  the  third  day  of  March  an 
Edict  was  issued  by  the  Emperor,  which  deplored  the 
internal  disturbances  while  the  glorious  sons  of  Russia 
were  offering  their  lives  for  the  Czar,  the  Fatherland,  and 
the  Orthodox  Church.  It  took  the  form  of  a  pathetic 
address  to  the  people  against  the  “  evil-minded  leaders 
of  the  revolutionary  movement.”  In  a  rescript  issued  the 
following  day,  evidently  after  he  had  received  some  good 
counsel,  Nicholas  definitely  promised  some  kind  of  a 
national  assembly.  A  Commission  was  at  once  convened 
to  work  out  a  plan.  Of  course  a  Manifesto  went  with 
the  Edict  reasserting  the  Imperial  authority.  Any  other 
course  would  probably  have  been  unworthy  of  the  Auto¬ 
crat,  so  soon  after  the  murder  of  his  uncle.  On  August 
6th,  there  was  a  still  more  definite  promise  of  a  Duma, 
but  this  ukase  was  accompanied  by  a  law  forbidding  pub¬ 
lic  meetings.  The  government  seemed  still  to  classify 
all  reformers  with  the  terrorists. 

To  counteract  the  work  of  the  revolutionists  there  was 
formed  an  organization  which  is  generally  known  as  the 
Black  Gang  or  Black  Band.  Their  raids  are  called  “  po¬ 
groms,”  this  word  meaning  a  “  smash,”  and  were  very 


430  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

numerous  from  1905  to  1907.  This  organization  had 
its  official  organ  in  St.  Petersburg,  called  the  “  For  Czar 
and  Fatherland.”  On  one  page  it  bore  the  words 
“  Smash  the  Jews,  Socialists,  Cadets  and  other  reptiles.” 
This  daily  passed  the  censors.  Appeals  were  sent  broad¬ 
cast  attempting  to  incite  the  people  to  violence  by  arous¬ 
ing  race  hatred.  At  first  these  uprisings  were  against 
recognized  revolutionaries  of  whatever  nationality.  Stu¬ 
dents  were  roughly  handled  in  several  places,  and  others 
of  the  Intelligents  felt  their  wrath.  Armenians  and  Mus¬ 
sulmans  were  severely  treated  in  Batoum  and  Baku,  and 
many  were  killed. 

The  final  culmination,  however,  was  an  intensification 
of  the  hatred  of  the  Jew,  and  the  later  “  pogroms  ”  were 
almost  entirely  directed  against  that  race.  That  they 
were  encouraged,  if  not  instigated,  by  governors,  and 
even  higher  officials,  seems  now  unquestioned.  The  very 
light  punishment  accorded  to  those  few  convicted  of  these 
disturbances,  and  the  wholesale  pardons  often  granted, 
are  almost  conclusive  proof  of  this  attitude  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment.  Several  official  reports  likewise  bear  testimony 
to  the  same  effect.  The  chief  organizer  of  the  Odessa 
massacre  in  October,  1905,  was  tried  and  sentenced  to 
eight  months  imprisonment.  He  soon  received  a  full 
pardon  from  the  Czar,  and  yet  almost  one  thousand  per¬ 
sons  had  been  killed  and  wounded.  In  Tiflis  it  is  said 
that  the  governor  ordered  the  military  band  to  head  the 
procession.  In  the  first  year  of  this  organization  there 
were  several  hundred  of  these  “  patriotic  demonstra¬ 
tions,”  or  “  pogroms,”  and  millions  of  dollars’  worth  of 
property  was  destroyed  as  well  as  hundreds  of  human 
lives  snuffed  out.  The  most  noted  “  pogrom  ”  was  the 
one  at  Bielostock.  The  Duma  made  an  investigation  of 
this,  and  reported  that  it  was  solely  due  to  officials,  that 


Nihilism  and  Revolution 


431 


the  police  knew  all  about  the  preparations  for  the  mas¬ 
sacre,  and  themselves,  aided  by  soldiers,  shot  down  peace¬ 
able  men,  women  and  children  without  the  slightest 
cause. 

Whether  the  age  of  terrorism  has  passed  away  re¬ 
mains  to  be  seen.  For  several  years  there  was  an  absence 
of  attempts  at  assassination  of  high  officials  —  seemingly 
a  lull  awaiting  the  outcome  of  the  Duma.  But  on  the 
fifteenth  of  September,  1911,  Peter  Stolypin,  Premier 
and  Minister  of  the  Interior,  was  shot  in  the  theatre  at 
Kiev  by  a  lawyer  named  Bograv,  and  in  the  presence 
of  the  Czar.  Stolypin  had  been  Minister  of  the  Interior 
since  1906,  and  had  gained  a  great  reputation  in  Europe. 
He  was  looked  upon  as  safe  and  sufficiently  progressive. 
In  Russia,  as  is  usually  the  case,  he  had  satisfied  neither 
party  of  extremes.  The  radicals  blamed  him  for  dis¬ 
solving  the  first  two  Dumas.  In  1906  an  attempt  had 
been  made  on  his  life  at  his  country  home,  which  re¬ 
sulted  in  the  maiming  of  two  of  his  children.  It  is  un¬ 
settled  whether  the  revolutionaries  were  responsible  for 
his  death  or  not.  An  official  investigation,  so  I  was  told 
in  Russia,  blamed  it  on  the  secret  police  department, 
which  Stolypin  was  investigating,  and  in  which  he  had 
discovered  wholesale  misuse  of  the  fund  devoted  to  that 
purpose.  Bograv  had  been  a  police  agent.  Stolypin  is 
the  third  Minister  of  the  Interior  to  be  assassinated  in 
less  than  ten  years  —  the  two  previous  being  Sipyagin 
(1902)  and  Plehve  (1904). 


CHAPTER  XXV 


AUTOCRACY  AND  BUREAUCRACY 

Growth  of  Autocracy  —  Ruling  Caste  —  The  Bureaucrats — Official  Delay 
—  Council  of  the  Empire  —  Ministries  —  Dualism  of  Control  —  Ter¬ 
ritorial  Divisions — Ukases  —  Press  Censorship  —  Martial  Law  — 
Passport  System  —  Corruption  —  Inefficiency  of  Police  —  Russian 
Officials. 

Russian  autocracy  was  not  a  spontaneous  develop¬ 
ment,  but  was  rather  a  growth.  In  the  early  days  of 
Russian  history,  as  has  been  shown,  the  death  of  each 
Grand  Prince  brought  about  a  struggle  among  his  vari¬ 
ous  heirs  until  the  strongest  came  into  control  of  all  that 
his  father  had  governed.  In  the  years  1228-1462,  Rus¬ 
sia  suffered  no  fewer  than  ninety  internecine  conflicts, 
and  almost  twice  as  many  foreign  wars.  A  study  of 
history  clearly  shows  that  the  Russian  autocracy  was  a 
product  of  the  people  themselves.  Furthermore,  it  may 
be  said,  that  in  after  years,  when  the  people  might  have 
thrown  off  this  yoke,  they  preferred  to  re-establish  it. 

Beggars  cannot  be  choosers,  and  a  people  who  had 
endured  so  many  troubles,  as  well  as  a  hard  alien  yoke, 
would  be  thankful  for  any  change  that  promised  better¬ 
ment  and  came  from  Moscow.  That  city  had  already 
become  the  home  of  the  head  of  the  Russian  Church, 
and  the  Prince  of  Moscow  was  looked  upon  as  the  eldest 
son  of  the  Church.  Ivan  III  married  Sofia  Paleologa, 
a  niece  of  the  last  of  the  Byzantine  emperors.  Sofia 
never  gave  up  her  title  of  Byzantine  Empress.  In  so 
far  as  it  was  possible,  she  transferred  her  prestige  to 

432 


Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 


433 


Moscow  and  shared  it  with  her  husband.  From  this 
time  the  Byzantine  coat-of-arms,  the  double  eagle,  ap¬ 
pears  on  the  Russian  Imperial  seal.  At  the  same  time 
the  outward  ceremonial  and  pomp  was  increased.  His 
son,  Ivan  IV,  known  as  the  Terrible,  took  the  full 
Caesarean  title,  —  Czar  is  a  corruption  of  Caesar,  —  and 
proceeded  to  eclipse  all  Byzantine  records  in  cruelty, 
treachery  and  superstition.  Peter  the  Great  developed  to 
its  fullest  extent  the  autocratic  principle,  and  under  him 
the  serfdom  of  the  peasants  was  extended.  Press  cen¬ 
sorship  began  to  be  exercised,  and  the  secret  police  be¬ 
came  a  power.  Peter  and  Catherine,  the  first  great 
reformers,  accomplished  even  more  for  the  ultimate  bene¬ 
fit  of  autocracy  than  for  the  profit  of  the  people. 

In  theory  autocracy,  as  represented  in  Russia,  means 
that  all  the  functions  of  power,  the  legislative,  the  admin¬ 
istrative  and  the  judicial,  are  concentrated  in  the  hands 
of  the  sovereign.  In  other  words,  the  three  functions  of 
government,  into  which  our  own  country  is  divided,  are 
settled  absolutely  upon  the  Czar.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
none  of  the  Czars  have  ruled  alone,  unless  it  was  Peter 
the  Great.  They  have  always  had  the  support  of  a  pow¬ 
erful  ruling  caste,  or  oligarchy.  In  addition  to  the  func¬ 
tions  of  the  secular  government,  the  Czar  is  also  the 
official  head  of  the  Orthodox  Church.  According  to  the 
school  of  sentimentalists,  who  uphold  this  form  of  gov¬ 
ernment,  the  Czar  is  mystically  commissioned  and  in¬ 
spired  not  only  from  the  bosom  of  his  own  people,  but 
even  from  a  higher  source.  The  proclamations  from  the 
throne  always  have  this  semi-religious  tone,  as  though 
the  Autocrat  and  Divinity  were  in  some  way  linked  to¬ 
gether. 

Even  a  slight  consideration  of  the  subject  will  show 
that  such  a  government  in  reality  is  an  impossibility, 


434  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


unless  the  sovereign  should  be  gifted  with  the  omnis¬ 
cience  of  the  Almighty.  It  would  be  a  physical  impos¬ 
sibility  for  one  man  to  decide  all  the  details  of  govern¬ 
ment  over  an  Empire  which  includes  one-sixth  of  the 
landed  surface  of  the  globe,  and  a  population  of  tens  of 
millions  of  people,  of  many  different  nationalities.  For 
comparison,  consider  all  of  our  state  governments  wiped 
out;  state  governors,  who  were  merely  appointees  of 
the  central  government;  county  and  township  officials, 
who  were  responsible  only  to  the  head  government  and 
not  representatives  of  the  people ;  every  detail  over  our 
entire  country  ruled  from  Washington  by  a  single  exec¬ 
utive.  And  yet  we  have  neither  so  many  people  nor  so 
many  problems  to  meet  as  Russia.  An  absolute  auto¬ 
cratic  government  is  scarcely  conceivable  in  this  day  and 
age.  In  addition  to  the  primary  acts  of  government,  not 
a  single  charitable  institution  can  be  founded,  a  business 
corporation  formed,  a  school  established,  or  a  bed  en¬ 
dowed  in  a  hospital  without  the  solemnly  registered  con¬ 
sent  of  the  Autocrat.  No  man,  even  though  he  might 
be  superhuman,  could  make  himself  even  superficially 
acquainted  with  more  than  a  small  fraction  of  the  acts 
which  are  every  day  done  in  the  name  of  the  Czar  of  all 
the  Russias. 

Where  the  oversight  of  the  Autocrat  ceases,  the  power 
of  the  oligarchs,  the  men  who  have  been  able  to  capture 
the  prestige  of  the  Autocrat,  begins,  and  they  use  it  in 
such  ways  as  they  think  necessary  or  desirable.  The 
system  results  in  no  responsibility  and  no  individual  com¬ 
petency.  It  strikes  where  it  should  not  strike,  is  too  late 
in  being  lenient,  and  never  foresees  what  is  under  its 
very  nose.  In  this  twentieth  century,  with  the  accession 
of  immense  Asiatic  territories  and  their  many  compli¬ 
cated  questions,  it  is  impossible  for  the  Autocrat  to  rule 


Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 


435 


even  as  did  Peter  the  Great  in  his  time.  But  Peter  the 
Great  himself  was  an  unusual  man,  gifted  with  almost 
superhuman  energy  and  endurance,  while  the  present 
Czar,  Nicholas  II,  is,  according  to  those  who  have  made 
the  closest  study  of  modern  Russia,  the  weakest  emperor 
that  Russia  has  had  for  at  least  a  century.  “  In  Rus¬ 
sia,”  says  Mr.  Pares,  “  the  Emperor  is  often  officially 
described  as  the  ‘  Supreme  Will,’  but  what  is  to  happen 
if  the  Supreme  Will  ceases  to  will,  that  is,  disappears? 
At  that  moment,  autocracy  disappears  too,  and  gives 
place  to  wholesale  oligarchy.” 

Where,  then,  might  be  asked,  is  the  seat  of  real  au¬ 
thority  in  Russia?  The  Russian  supporters  of  autocracy 
would  say  that  the  exercise  of  the  various  functions  of 
government  is  delegated  to  special  departments,  whose 
powers  are  rigorously  determined  by  law.  One  less  in 
love  with  the  government  would  sum  it  all  up  in  the  one 
word  Bureaucracy.  There  are  bureaus  for  this,  bureaus 
for  that  and  bureaus  for  the  other.  The  bureaus  are 
grouped  under  departments.  At  the  head  of  each  of  the 
bureaus  is  a  chief,  and  at  the  head  of  each  department 
is  a  minister.  Under  the  chiefs  are  sub-chiefs,  and  so 
on  down  to  the  humblest  clerk.  Everything  must  be 
referred  to  an  upper  official ;  that  official  refers  it  to  the 
one  next  higher;  this  official  passes  it  on  to  his  bureau; 
the  bureau  official  relieves  himself  by  submitting  it  to 
the  department,  and  so  on.  It  is  little  wonder  that  every 
department  is  months  behind  with  its  work.  At  the  head 
of  this  system  there  is  generally  some  commanding  fig¬ 
ure,  who  exercises  the  real  power  of  government  through 
his  ascendency  over  the  man  who,  by  the  accident  of 
birth,  occupies  the  throne. 

With  a  man  who  is  himself  rather  weak  and  vacilla¬ 
ting,  it  is  much  more  easy  for  some  strong  personality 


to  acquire  such  ascendency  than  if  the  sovereign  himself 
were  a  man  of  indomitable  will.  This  man  — or  these 
men  —  not  only  exercise  the  ordinary  function  of  an 
executive,  but  also  have  heretofore  done  all  the  acts 
which  are  ordinarily  left  to  a  legislative  assent  y  y 
means  of  decrees  and  official  ukases.  The  Duma  has  as 
vet  not  greatly  changed  this  condition  of  affairs. 
Through  their  control  of  the  judiciary,  they  also  prac¬ 
tically  exercise  this  most  important  function  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment,  which  should  dispense  justice  impartially  to 
the  many  millions  of  subjects.  The  judicial  reforms  o 
Alexander  II  attempted  to  separate  the  judicial  power 
from  the  Autocrat.  Although  the  Emperor  is  officially 
regarded  as  its  head,  he  does  not  take  part  in  judicial 
decisions.  The  Senate,  however,  which  is  appoints  y 
the  Autocrat,  is  now  the  Supreme  Court.  It  is  divided 
into  nine  sections,  of  which  two  render  judgment  in 
political  cases  and  charges  against  officials.  Its  mem 
bers  are  generally  men  of  rank  and  substance. 

At  the  head  of  the  Bureaucracy,  until  the  advent  o 
the  Duma,  stood  the  Council  of  the  Empire,  which  was 
composed  wholly  of  nominees  made  by  the  Emperor  an 
his  ministers.  Some  of  the  members  are  now  elective 
The  initiative  in  all  legislation  was  and  still  is  suppose  y 
left  to  the  Czar,  or  at  least  is  promulgated  in  h.s  name. 
After  being  thus  launched  these  projects  are  supposed 
,o  be  studied  by  the  ministry  interested  or  by  specta 
commission  appointed  for  this  purpose,  and  afterward 
in  a  general  meeting.  After  this  formality  had  been 
Tone  through  with,  under  the  old  order  they  were  pre- 
fen, ed  to  the  Emperor,  together  with  the  opinions  of  th 
Council  if  it  should  be  divided  in  opinion,  and  it  was 
a,  this  point  that  the  strong  will  of  the  master-mind  was 
exercised.  The  decision  arrived  at  became  the  la  . 


Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 


437 


Emperor  might  ignore  the  opinions  of  the  Council,  might 
refuse  to  listen  to  any  suggestions,  and  proceed  to  legis¬ 
late  independently.  Regardless  of  the  Duma,  and  prom¬ 
ises  made  to  the  people  for  it,  such  an  act  was  promul¬ 
gated  not  more  than  a  year  ago.  There  are  a  number 
of  instances  since  the  meeting  of  the  first  Duma.  This 
body  is  considered  in  another  chapter. 

At  the  head  of  the  civil  administration  are  two  bodies. 
One  of  these,  the  Council  of  Ministers,  which  consists 
of  all  the  ministers,  and  any  person  whom  the  Czar  likes 
to  call  to  his  aid,  appears  only  occasionally.  The  Com¬ 
mittee  of  Ministers,  a  larger  body  with  wider  and  unde¬ 
fined  powers,  has  taken  its  place.  The  Minister  of  the 
Interior,  who  has  control  over  the  police,  press  censor¬ 
ship,  provincial  governors  and  the  Zemstva,  and  the  Min¬ 
ister  of  Finance,  who  has  control  over  taxation,  the  tariff, 
and  the  liquor  monopoly,  together  with  the  Procurator 
of  the  Holy  Synod,  are  the  governing  chiefs.  The  other 
ministers  are  those  of  War,  Marine,  Justice,  Foreign 
Affairs,  Agriculture,  Commerce,  Ways  of  Communica¬ 
tion,  Public  Instruction,  the  Imperial  Household  and  Im¬ 
perial  Domains.  In  addition  to  this  the  Czar  has  two 
private  cabinets  —  one  concerned  with  public  instruction 
of  girls  and  administering  the  institutions  established  by 
the  Empress  Marie,  mother  of  Nicholas  I,  and  the  other 
with  charity. 

In  local  affairs  there  are  two  important  centres  of 
popular  power  —  Zemstvo  and  the  Mir.  In  the  central 
government  there  is  no  representative  of  the  people,  and 
no  tie,  excepting  that  which  would  bind  a  master  and 
subject.  The  Autocrat  is  a  law  unto  himself,  acknowl¬ 
edging  no  responsibility.  But  the  fact  that  contradictory 
decrees  have  appeared  in  recent  years,  one  closely  follow¬ 
ing  the  other,  shows  that  either  his  own  mind  is  very 


438  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


unsettled,  or  there  is  at  least  a  temporary  master  over 
him.  It  is  little  wonder  that  with  this  arbitrariness  and 
vacillation,  the  hatred  of  bureaucracy  is  a  sentiment  that 
is  rapidly  growing  among  all  classes  of  Russians.  If 
some  satisfactory  vent  is  not  given  to  this  feeling,  the 
same  resentment  will  eventually  be  directed  against  the 
throne.  The  influence  of  the  Church,  and  the  natural 
conservatism  of  the  agricultural  peasants,  have,  up  to 
this  time,  crushed  such  sentiment.  The  labouring  classes 
in  the  cities  are  not  so  conservative. 

The  central  government,  it  may  be  said,  is  an  unwieldy 
body,  with  a  hopeless  confusion  of  functions.  An  unfor¬ 
tunate  dualism  of  control  and  overlapping  of  authority 
likewise  limits  the  efficiency  in  many  instances.  The  most 
noticeable  overlapping  is  in  the  police  service.  The  local 
police  are  under  the  control  of  the  governor,  who  is  sub¬ 
ject  to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior.  The  political  police 
receive  their  orders  direct  from  St.  Petersburg.  The 
political  police  have  the  authority  to  order  the  local  police 
to  help  them.  Hence  the  orders  of  the  governor  are 
inferior  to  those  of  the  political  police.  The  political 
police  themselves  are  divided  into  the  Defence  Section 
and  the  Gendarmes,  but  they  are  under  dual  control. 

Between  the  various  ministries  there  is  no  affection, 
and  the  officials  are  frequently  personal  enemies,  as  well 
as  rivals  for  the  Imperial  favour.  The  most  noted  in¬ 
stance  in  recent  years  was  during  the  incumbency  of 
Witte  and  Plehve.  Both  of  these  were  men  of  strong 
will,  great  energy  and  remarkable  ability.  The  efficiency 
of  each  was  lessened  by  the  antagonism  of  the  other. 
Add  to  the  faults  of  the  central  body  those  of  provincial 
administration,  and  the  complexity  increases.  In  most 
countries  local  government  is  self-government;  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  it  is  the  field  of  the  worst  tyranny. 


Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 


439 


Along  administrative  lines  the  Empire  is  quite  arti¬ 
ficially  divided  into  many  governments;  these  are  sub¬ 
divided  into  districts,  which  are  again  parcelled  out  into 
“  stations.”  At  the  head  of  each  of  the  governments 
stands  a  governor,  who  acts  for  the  central  government 
in  general  by  promulgating  laws,  and  making  decisions 
which  have  the  force  of  law  in  matters  of  public  decency 
and  safety.  He  also  represents  the  Ministry  of  the  Inte¬ 
rior,  which  makes  him  practically  chief  of  police  of  the 
province.  It  is  a  powerful  position,  and  is  more  often 
than  not  held  by  a  soldier,  who  knows  little  about  civil 
affairs,  and  is  used  only  to  the  arbitrary  methods  of  the 
army.  If  the  governor  does  not  become  a  tyrant,  it  is 
because  there  is  a  despotic  superior  over  him.  Although 
he  is  supposed  to  be  aided  by  a  local  council,  this  seat 
of  local  power  has  little  influence. 

Each  ministry  likewise  has  its  own  bureau  in  each 
province,  which  is  independent  of  the  governor,  and 
these  still  further  complicate  the  situation.  The  minor 
districts  into  which  the  government  is  divided  are  prac¬ 
tically  ruled  by  police  colonels  nominated  by  the  gov¬ 
ernor.  Each  official  is  an  autocrat  in  a  way,  subject  only 
to  the  autocrats  over  him.  The  “  stations  ”  are  each 
under  the  control  of  a  police  captain.  These  men  re¬ 
ceive  small  salaries,  and  aim  to  recruit  their  finances  by 
perquisites  and  “  tips  ”  of  many  kinds.  There  are  many 
more  officials  than  will  be  found  in  similar1  offices  in 
the  United  States  or  England.  The  city  of  Moscow  has 
a  governor-general,  and  there  are  some  other  local  vari¬ 
ations  to  the  general  rule.  Absolute  autocracy  might  be 
expected  to  result  in  a  simple,  even  if  rigid,  form  of 
government;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  Russia  it  is  one  of 
the  most  complicated  systems  of  government  to  be  found 
anywhere. 


440  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


“  There  are  thousands  of  laws  in  Russia,”  says  one 
writer,  “  but  there  is  no  law.  The  country  is  cursed 
with  over-legislation  of  the  most  freakish  and  mischie¬ 
vous  kind.”  The  official  ukases  of  the  Czar  and  other 
officials,  which  have  the  force  of  law,  fill  scores  of  vol¬ 
umes.  This  condition  would  probably  exist  even  if  the 
autocracy  was  little  less  than  divine,  as  it  is  in  theory, 
because  the  Czars  themselves  differed  much  in  tem¬ 
perament.  “  Obedience  to  the  sovereign  power  of 
the  Emperor,”  says  the  Russian  code,  “  is  com¬ 
manded  by  God  himself,  not  only  by  fear  but  in  con¬ 
science.” 

“  What  does  religion  teach  us  as  our  duty  to  the 
Czar?”  is  a  question  in  the  catechism  imposed  on  all 

schools. 

“  Worship,  fidelity,  the  payment  of  taxes,  service,  love 
and  prayer;  the  whole  being  comprised  in  the  words 
worship  and  fidelity,”  is  the  prescribed  answer. 

Complete  freedom  of  religion  is  granted  by  the  same 
code,  but  should  a  non-orthodox  church  admit  to  its 
membership  an  Orthodox  Russian,  it  would  not  only 
submit  itself  to  reprisal,  but  will  subject  the  Russian 
himself  to  a  loss  of  all  civil  rights,  and  even  imprison¬ 
ment  or  exile.  A  recent  law  has  granted  a  little  more 
of  religious  freedom.  Permission  is  now  given  to  erect 
an  edifice  wherever  there  are  fifty  members  of  any  de¬ 
nomination.  But  there  is  a  clause  forbidding  all  propa¬ 
ganda,  and  this  clause  is  wide  and  vague.  Propaganda 
is  not  defined,  and  would  be  left  for  interpretation  to 
local  authorities.  Laws  governing  the  press  fill  a  large 
volume,  but  special  secret  circulars  are  issued  from  time 
to  time  covering  the  petty  details  of  journalism.  Until 
the  death  of  Plehve  it  was  practically  muzzled.  Repre¬ 
sentatives  of  the  censorship  used  to  visit  the  newspaper 


Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 


441 


offices,  and  cut  out  with  a  blue  pencil  certain  articles  or 
paragraphs. 

At  the  present  time  matter  to  be  published  in  news¬ 
papers  is  not  censored  before  publication,  but  the  owner 
is  held  responsible  for  what  appears.  If  the  proprietor 
oversteps  the  bounds,  he  can  be  punished  by  forbidding 
the  publishing  of  advertisements  for  a  period,  thus  taking 
away  the  principal  revenue;  by  prohibiting  the  public 
sale  of  the  journal;  or  by  entirely  suspending  his  pub¬ 
lication  for  a  limited  period,  or  absolutely.  This  method 
does  not  always  prove  successful,  for  a  journal  suspended 
one  day  will  appear  a  day  or  two  later  under  another 
name,  and  oftentimes  in  a  still  more  virulent  tone.  The 
governor  in  any  province  can  issue  a  standing  order, 
according  to  which  a  newspaper  is  not  allowed  to  say 
anything  abusive  of  the  government,  or  publish  any  false 
news.  A  violation  will  bring  a  fine  of  $250.00.  The 
decision  as  to  what  comes  under  these  heads  lies  with 
the  governor.  A  series  of  such  fines  will  soon  ruin  the 
average  newspaper.  One  can  justly  say  that  the  freedom 
of  the  press  is  still  only  comparative.  The  circulation  of 
written  or  printed  documents  calculated  to  create  a  dis¬ 
respect  for  the  Czar  are  subject  to  severe  penalties.  Any 
disrespecting  cartoon  or  slighting  statement  about  the 
Czar,  in  a  foreign  periodical,  will  be  blacked  out  before 
it  is  forwarded  to  the  person  to  whom  it  is  addressed. 

The  application  of  martial  law  in  any  community, 
which  is  so  frequently  resorted  to,  places  all  criminal 
matters  in  the  hands  of  the  military.  Strikes  are  abso¬ 
lutely  forbidden.  Public  meetings  cannot  be  held  with¬ 
out  permission  from  the  police  authorities,  and  in  this 
way  reform  agitation  is  curbed.  It  was  in  the  effort  to 
stop  such  meetings  that  the  odious  police  surveillance, 
with  its  midnight  searches  and  raids,  followed  by  secret 


442  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


trial  and  exile,  was  exercised.  In  1903,  for  instance, 
an  official  report  showed  that  in  the  first  three  months 
of  that  year  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-three 
persons  were  arrested  on  suspicion  of  political  activity, 
of  whom  eight  hundred  and  fifty-three  were  sentenced 
“  administratively.”  Many  others  were  held  for  weeks 
or  months  without  trial  until  finally  released. 

An  absolute  ignoring  of  the  rights  of  the  individual 
is  a  natural  development  of  such  a  bureaucracy.  They 
seem  to  have  transposed  the  common  axiom  of  a  demo¬ 
cratic  government,  to  read  that  it  is  better  for  ten  inno¬ 
cent  men  to  suffer  than  one  guilty  man  to  escape.  Con¬ 
ditions  have  not  changed  much  in  spite  of  recent  official 
tikases  guaranteeing  the  rights  of  individual  freedom. 
On  May  1st,  1912,  —  Labour  Day,  —  all  men  without 
collars  were  chased  off  the  Nevski  Prospect  in  St.  Peters¬ 
burg  on  to  the  side  streets,  in  order  to  prevent  a  demon¬ 
stration  of  workingmen.  A  few  days  later,  while  me¬ 
morial  services  were  being  held  in  one  of  the  cathedrals 
of  that  city  for  the  victims  of  the  Titanic,  the  Cossacks, 
four  abreast,  rode  down  the  sidewalks  of  the  Nevski 
with  their  terrible  whips  in  their  hands,  in  an  effort  to 
antevert  a  meeting  of  the  students  who  wanted  to  hold 
a  memorial  for  some  two  hundred  miners  recently  killed 
in  the  Ural  Mountains.  No  one  was  hurt,  as  they  got 
out  of  the  way.  This  whip,  called  the  nagaika,  is  heavy 
and  solid,  and  made  from  twisted  hide.  At  the  butt  is 
a  loop  for  the  wrist.  Near  the  end  is  a  jagged  lump  of 
lead  firmly  tied  in  the  strands.  When  a  Cossack  rises 
in  his  stirrups  to  strike,  he  can  break  a  skull,  and  an 
ordinary  blow  is  sufficient  to  slit  the  face  or  cripple  for 
life.  It  is  no  wonder  that  the  people  run  when  they  hear 
the  cry,  “  The  Cossacks  are  coming.” 

The  passport  system  has  not  been  modified.  When  in 


Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 


443 


Moscow,  just  prior  to  the  Czar’s  memorable  visit  in 
June,  1912,  the  police  made  a  house  to  house  search  for 
persons  without  passports.  I  saw  squads  of  twenty  and 
thirty  persons,  men,  women  and  children,  marched 
through  the  streets  between  a  solid  phalanx  of  soldiers 
—  poor  peasants  without  these  important  papers.  Most 
of  them  had  come  to  the  city  in  search  of  employment. 
Thousands  were  thus  placed  under  arrest  —  as  many  as 
three  thousand  in  one  night,  according  to  an  account 
that  I  saw  in  London  papers.  Most  of  them  were  sent 
back  to  their  villages,  while  others  were  held  in  confine¬ 
ment  until  the  visit  had  ended.  It  was  certainly  a  record 
“round-up.”  Cellars  and  attics  were  searched;  the  at¬ 
tics  of  houses  along  the  line  of  march  were  locked  up, 
for  fear  some  one  might  get  out  on  the  roof  and  throw 
a  bomb.  The  manager  of  one  large  establishment  told 
me  that  he  was  obliged  to  board  up  a  fire-escape,  which 
he  had  built  for  the  protection  of  his  employees.  A  spe¬ 
cial  police  officer  called  on  me,  and  put  me  through  a 
searching  category  of  questions.  It  was  done  very  po¬ 
litely  and  considerately,  and  even  apologetically,  as  if 
doing  an  unpleasant  duty;  and  every  stranger  had  the 
same  experience.  “  The  people  have  as  good  a  govern¬ 
ment  as  they  deserve,”  said  several  foreigners  to  me.  I 
cannot  believe  it  in  the  face  of  the  facts  set  forth  here. 

It  is  little  wonder  that  in  such  a  government  official 
venality  is  not  only  a  very  ancient  but  a  present  evil  in 
the  Empire  of  the  Czar.  It  is  aggravated  by  the  fact  that 
officials  are  above  the  jurisdiction  of  the  ordinary  courts, 
and  are  only  open  to  prosecution  by  their  superiors.  As 
these  officials  may  be  guilty  of  the  same  offence,  how 
can  they  be  expected  to  take  the  initiative  against  the 
minor  official?  The  Crimean  War  opened  the  eyes  of 
Alexander  II  to  the  corruption  which  had  pervaded  every 


444  The  Russian  Empire  of  To -Day- 


department  of  the  government.  That  sovereign  began 
the  seemingly  impossible  task  of  cleaning  his  Augean 
stables.  Much  reform  was  undoubtedly  accomplished. 
The  war  with  Turkey,  a  little  more  than  twenty  years 
later,  showed  that  the  same  abominable  conditions  had 
grown  up  right  under  the  eyes  of  that  astute  monarch. 
Officialdom  was  reeking  with  depravity. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  later  another  great  awakening 
came  to  Russia  with  the  opening  of  the  Russo-Japanese 
war.  Like  a  deadly  virus  corruption  had  spread  through¬ 
out  the  entire  political  anatomy  of  the  nation.  The  scan¬ 
dals  in  connection  with  the  incompetency  of  the  navy 
have  been  set  forth  by  many  writers.  Some  of  the  ar¬ 
mour  plate  on  vessels  built  in  Russian  shipyards  was 
made  of  wood  instead  of  steel,  an  English  authority 
states.  Externally  the  fabric  of  Russian  military  and 
naval  power  was  more  imposing  than  it  had  ever  been. 
The  nominal  expenditure  had  been  increasing  at  the  rate 
of  fifty  million  dollars  each  year.  The  bugaboo  of  a 
powerful  Russian  navy,  and  a  nation  with  a  million  sol¬ 
diers  under  arms,  had  been  frightening  many  govern¬ 
ments  prior  to  that  time.  The  menacing  shadow  of  the 
Russian  bear  had  caused  many  a  European  monarch  to 
shudder.  But  the  corruption  reached  down  to  the  very 
lowest  officials.  It  was  a  repetition  of  conditions  pre¬ 
ceding  the  Crimean  War,  which  so  astounded  all  Russia. 

The  scandals  in  connection  with  the  Red  Cross  sup¬ 
plies,  contributed  by  patriotic  Russians,  were  frightful. 
Some  of  them  involved  persons  very  near  to  the  throne. 
One  lady  in  Moscow,  who  had  contributed  a  carload  of 
Red  Cross  supplies  for  the  army  in  the  East,  decided 
she  would  inspect  the  boxes  after  they  were  loaded  on 
the  train.  Upon  opening  them  she  found  that  some  were 
entirely  empty,  while  others  were  filled  with  straw  and 


Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 


445 


bricks.  It  is  very  like  the  experience  of  an  Englishman 
whom  I  met.  As  the  representative  of  a  British  house 
he  had  sold  a  bill  of  merchandise,  of  the  value  of  four 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  to  a  merchant  in  Odessa. 
Most  merchants  have  their  goods  shipped  by  rail,  and 
then  place  them  in  the  hands  of  a  commission  man  at 
the  border  to  see  that  they  go  through  the  customs  prop¬ 
erly,  and  under  as  low  a  rating  as  possible.  The  Odessa 
merchant,  in  order  to  save  freight,  had  the  goods  shipped 
by  water.  Upon  arrival  he  was  notified  that  the  duty 
would  be  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  which  he 
promptly  paid.  The  boxes  were  then  delivered.  Upon 
opening  them  he  found  only  stones,  paper  and  other 
things  which  would  make  up  the  approximate  weight  of 
the  original  package.  In  this  instance,  as  in  many  others, 
although  the  merchant  was  reimbursed  through  govern¬ 
ment  channels  after  an  aggravating  delay,  no  one  was 
dismissed  from  the  service.  The  history  of  the  great 
Cathedral  of  the  Saviour,  in  Moscow,  which  took  sixty 
years  to  build,  is  similar.  The  funds  are  said  to  have 
disappeared  several  times  over.  Jews,  who  are  supposed 
to  reside  within  the  Pale,  understand  how  to  buy  the 
immunity  which  the  law  denies  them  in  other  parts  of 
the  Empire.  Perquisites  in  many  departments  are  rec¬ 
ognized  by  ancient  custom,  and  go  by  regular  scales. 

The  ordinary  police  are  notably  inefficient.  “  Every 
policeman,”  said  more  than  one  foreigner  to  me  in  Rus¬ 
sia,  “  has  his  price.”  Their  method  was  explained  to 
me  by  one  fellow-countryman,  who  represents  large 
American  interests.  The  offices  of  the  company  were 
robbed  one  night,  and  the  police  were  promptly  notified. 
Everything  was  left  in  the  disorder  that  it  was  found 
for  their  inspection.  No  policeman  appeared  for  two 
hours  or  more,  and  then  they  came  in  droves.  The  first 


446  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


question  the  officers  asked  was  how  much  loss  had  oc¬ 
curred.  This,  the  manager  told  them,  he  was  unable  to 
say  until  he  balanced  his  books.  The  police  then  began 
to  look  through  every  paper  and  envelope  that  they  could 
find,  opening  up  those  which  were  sealed  and  scattering 
the  contents  about.  When  protest  was  made  at  this  use¬ 
less  annoyance,  they  said  that  the  matter  was  now  in 
their  hands,  and  they  would  make  investigation  in  their 
own  way.  Other  droves  of  police  continued  to  come  in, 
and  it  was  several  hours  before  they  left  to  endeavour 
to  find  the  robbers.  The  matter  was  never  heard  of  again 
officially,  until  protest  was  made  through  diplomatic 
channels,  and  then  only  an  assurance  that  a  proper  in¬ 
vestigation  would  be  made.  The  same  gentleman’s  house 
was  robbed  not  long  afterwards,  while  the  family  were 
away  at  the  theatre,  and  a  couple  thousand  dollars’  worth 
of  jewels  and  money  taken.  As  before,  the  police  came 
in  droves  after  quite  a  delay ;  a  formal  investigation  was 
made,  and  nothing  more  was  ever  heard.  This  American 
tells  me  that  he  is  justified  from  this  experience,  and 
those  of  acquaintances,  in  believing  that  the  police  were 
either  in  league  with  the  robbers,  or  recovered  the  booty 
and  retained  it. 

Many  of  the  police,  although  without  private  income, 
live  in  apartments  which  cost  them  much  more  than  the 
small  salary  which  they  draw.  The  wages  of  a  police¬ 
man  are  sometimes  less  than  ten  dollars  a  month.  Were 
these  instances  isolated  or  unusual,  I  would  not  mention 
them,  for  we  have  our  own  troubles;  but  similar  ones 
are  heard  everywhere.  Under  the  Russian  system,  where 
there  is  no  local  self-government,  the  general  government 
must  bear  the  blame. 

The  Russian  officials  are  usually  pleasant  gentlemen. 
There  is  generally  an  air  of  indolence  and  indifference 


Autocracy  and  Bureaucracy 


447 


present  in  the  office.  There  are  many  people  about  smo¬ 
king  cigarettes  and  sipping  at  their  tea.  While  this  is 
being  done,  there  may  be  a  crowd  awaiting  their  atten¬ 
tion,  or  that  of  the  chief.  It  takes  about  three  men  to 
do  the  work  of  one.  Each  one  waits  for  orders  from 
some  one  else;  if  orders  do  not  come,  it  is  safest  to  do 
nothing.  Initiative  will  likely  be  punished.  Each  one 
feels  that  he  is  only  bound  to  loyalty  to  his  chief.  In 
the  government  itself,  he  has  no  part.  If  he  is  ambitious, 
obsequiousness  is  an  excellent  quality.  But  salaries  are 
small,  money  is  necessary,  and  opportunities  for  making 
money  out  of  his  office  open  up.  The  official  is  only 
human.  Were  local  self-government  established  there 
would  undoubtedly  be  less  corruption,  for  there  would 
be  responsible  officials  near  at  hand.  The  bureaus  in 
St.  Petersburg  would  not  have  to  be  consulted.  The 
bureaus  and  ministries  would  not  only  be  freed  of  much 
detail  and  annoyance,  but  blame  would  not  be  placed  on 
them  for  every  fault  or  neglect  of  a  lower  official. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  REPRESENTATIVE  GOVERNMENT 

Zemstvo  —  Volost  —  Local  Improvements  —  Town  Council  —  First  Duma 
—  Council  of  the  Empire  — The  Cadets  —  Taurida  Palace  —  Second 
Duma  — Imperial  Interference  — Third  Duma  —  Election  of  Fourth 
Duma. 

Representative  government  has  made  at  least  its 
appearance  in  Russia.  After  the  emancipation  the  most 
urgent  reform  was  the  improvement  of  the  provincial 
administration.  The  change  which  followed  the  eman¬ 
cipation  gave  to  the  period  immediately  following  that 
event  the  name  of  the  “  Epoch  of  Great  Reforms.”  Be¬ 
fore  that  time  the  only  reminder  of  self-government  was 
the  right  given  to  the  nobles  of  appointing  local  judges 
and  the  chief  local  officials,  and  of  exercising  a  certain 
amount  of  control  over  the  provincial  governors.  Once 
every  three  years  the  assemblies  of  the  nobles  met.  To 
take  part  in  this  assembly  the  person  had  to  be  not  only 
a  noble  by  birth,  but  a  landowner  in  the  district  and  of 
civil  or  military  rank.  In  theory,  much  of  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  justice  and  finances  was  in  the  hands  of  this 
class;  in  practice,  owing  to  bureaucratic  interference 
and  consequent  apathy,  it  was  a  nullity. 

The  emancipation  brought  with  it  the  Zemstvo,  which 
means  territorial  assembly.  It  might  be  called  a  county 
council.  A  Zemstvo  was  created  in  each  district,  the 
subdivision^ of  a  province,  and  then  in  each  province 
there  was  a  higher  Zemstvo.  This  is  a  peculiar  Rus- 

448 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  449 


sian  institution  created  by  the  autocracy  itself,  and  is 
intended  to  supplement  the  rural  communes.  The  lar¬ 
gest  unit  heretofore  had  been  the  Volost,  which  com¬ 
prises  a  few  contiguous  communes.  Its  action  was  con¬ 
fined  exclusively  to  the  peasantry.  The  Zemstvo  is  a 
much  larger  administrative  unit,  and  is  based  on  a  spe¬ 
cial  representation  for  each  class,  the  number  being  fixed 
by  law.  The  nobility  elect  so  many,  and  the  peasants 
so  many.  The  peasant  representatives  must  be  peasants. 
In  a  country  where  the  dividing  line  between  the  classes 
is  so  marked,  this  system  had  a  good  many  things  in 
its  favour.  Each  class  had  its  own  representatives,  who 
could  speak  with  authority.  It  was  not  thought  neces¬ 
sary  to  recognize  the  existence  of  any  intermediate  class 
for  this  body.  The  birth. of  this  new  institution  was 
hailed  with  enthusiasm,  and  great  hopes  as  well  as  ex¬ 
pectations  were  aroused. 

The  franchise  for  the  nobles  is  based  on  property, 
while  that  for  the  peasants  is  a  system  of  universal  suf¬ 
frage.  Many  educated  persons  are  excluded  from  the 
franchise  by  this  arrangement,  because  they  are  neither 
nobles  nor  peasants.  The  members  of  the  Mir  elect  the 
members  of  the  Volost,  and  that  body  chooses  the  can¬ 
didates  for  the  Zemstvo.  Twenty-five  or  more  mem¬ 
bers  will  be  chosen  by  the  different  Volosts,  and  out  of 
these  the  governor,  acting  on  advice  from  the  marshal 
of  the  district,  will  select  ten.  From  thirty  to  forty 
members  constitute  a  District  Zemstvo,  of  whom  two- 
thirds  will  be  nobles  or  landowners.  The  marshal  is 
president  of  the  assembly. 

The  annual  session  of  this  body  is  limited  to  fifteen 
days,  but  generally  adjourns  within  a  week.  The  Pro¬ 
vincial  Zemstvo  can  hold  its  sessions  for  twenty-one 
days.  Each  of  the  Zemstvo,  local  or  provincial,  usually 


450  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


elects  a  permanent  committee,  which  holds  office  for 
three  years,  and  by  whom  the  real  work  of  the  assembly 
is  done.  Its  president  must  be  confirmed  by  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  and  the  members  receive  a  salary.  As 
might  be  supposed,  the  Provincial  Zemstvo  has  charge 
of  the  affairs  of  the  province,  while  the  District  Zemstvo 
looks  after  the  needs  of  the  district.  The  Zemstvo  have 
the  right  to  levy,  at  their  own  discretion,  a  tax  on  land 
and  houses  for  the  purposes  of  local  government.  The 
higher  body  distributes  the  taxes  among  the  districts, 
and  the  inferior  body  parcels  it  out  among  the  villages. 
Heretofore  the  levying  of  a  tax  has  been  a  difficult  mat¬ 
ter,  and  sometimes  it  was  almost  impossible  to  secure 
the  money  necessary  for  local  needs  by  way  of  a  loan. 
At  the  very  end  of  the  third  Duma,  however,  a  law 
was  passed  extending  government  credit  to  the  Zemstvo 
and  Town  Councils.  This  has  been  done  by  the  char¬ 
tering  of  banks,  the  organization  and  management  of 
which  is  entrusted  to  government  officials. 

Within  the  scope  of  the  Zemstvo  are  schools,  hospitals, 
asylums,  roads  and  their  repairs,  sanitary  arrangements, 
and  agricultural  improvements.1  Roads,  it  may  be  said, 
have  generally  been  neglected,  as  they  consider  other 
things  more  important.  It  is  in  the  founding  of  schools 
and  hospitals  that  the  Zemstvo  have  accomplished  most. 
Even  the  church  schools,  many  of  which  previously  ex¬ 
isted  only  on  paper,  have  been  compelled  to  become  more 
efficient.  Some  of  the  assemblies  spend  about  half  their 
entire  income  on  this  one  feature.  The  peasant  repre- 

1  The  need  of  local  improvements  is  very  pressing  in  Russia.  According 
to  a  government  report  of  1904,  out  of  1084  towns,  which  had  a  population 
exceeding  ten  thousand,  892  possessed  no  organized  water  supply;  only  38 
were  drained;  only  55  possessed  tramways;  only  105  had  gas  or  electric 
lighting;  320  had  no  paved  streets  at  all. 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  451 

sentatives  especially  felt  the  need  of  hospitals,  where 
their  poor  compatriots  might  receive  medical  attention 
in  case  of  need.  Before  that  time  hospitals  were  few 
and  far  between.  Now  there  are  many  hospitals  even 
in  rural  districts.  Many  of  the  Zemstvo  maintain  stores 
where  good  seed  and  improved  agricultural  implements 
are  sold  at  a  very  modest  profit,  and  on  reasonable  terms. 
They  have  even  worked  out  a  system  of  cooperative  in¬ 
surance.  They  have  assisted  in  developing  local  indus¬ 
tries,  in  order  to  give  employment  to  the  peasants  of  the 
neighbourhood. 

The  functions  of  the  Zemstvo  seem  broad.  They 
did  not  replace  autocracy  or  bureaucracy,  however,  but 
were  simply  thrown  in  the  midst  of  the  old  system.  The 
ancient  institutions  were  left  untouched.  There  is  no 
link  between  the  two,  and  the  one  is  incompatible  with 
the  other.  The  officials  retained  all  their  original  au¬ 
thority  and  responsibility  undisturbed.  The  weaker  was 
bound  to  yield  to  the  stronger.  For  the  execution  of 
its  laws,  and  the  application  of  money  raised  by  taxation, 
the  Zemstvo  was  dependent  upon  bureaucratic  appointees, 
without  having  any  authority  over  them.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  Alexander  II  had  a  further  amplification 
of  this  representative  system  in  mind,  but  the  anarchistic 
activity  deadened  his  liberal  impulses,  and  this  reaction¬ 
ary  spirit  has  lasted  to  this  day. 

The  scope  and  activity  of  the  Zemstvo  have  been  less¬ 
ened  rather  than  extended  during  the  last  two  admin¬ 
istrations.  They  have  even  had  to  fight  for  their  very 
existence  against  the  wiles  of  Pobiedonestzev,  Plehve, 
and  others.  The  government  has  insisted  on  identifying 
reform  with  revolution,  and  any  criticism  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  or  request  for  better  things,  has  brought  down  its 
wrath  on  some  one  or  more  of  those  offending.  In  the 


452  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


older  arrangement  the  governor  could  suspend  a  Zems¬ 
tvo  only  on  the  ground  of  its  being  illegal,  or  when 
there  was  an  irreconcilable  difference  of  opinion  between 
factions.  Under  the  present  system,  that  official  can 
interpose  his  veto  whenever  he  considers  that  a  decision, 
even  though  it  may  be  perfectly  legal,  is  not  conducive 
to  the  public  good.  Any  difference  of  opinion  between 
the  governor  and  Zemstvo  is  referred  to  the  Minister 
of  the  Interior,  who  would  naturally  uphold  his  ap¬ 
pointee.  In  Tver,  for  instance,  the  local  Zemstvo  refused 
to  vote  subsidies  if  the  schools  were  transferred  to  the 
control  of  the  priests.  A  new  Zemstvo  was  nominated, 
and  several  members  of  the  old  one  were  deported.  The 
government  has  even  exercised  the  right  to  reject  any 
nomination  of  any  Zemstvo,  who  is  considered  to  be 
“  politically  dangerous.”  It  also  assumes  the  right  to 
arbitrarily  dismiss  any  member  for  the  same  cause. 

The  franchise  has  been  so  amended  as  to  reduce  the 
proportionate  representation  of  the  peasants.  That  the 
Zemstvo  have  accomplished  comparatively  so  little  can 
be  explained  by  the  persecution  of  the  government,  and 
the  indifference  generated  by  such  action.  It  drove  away 
both  conservatives  and  radicals.  Every  attempt  at  re¬ 
form  was  met  with  a  rebuff.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
Zemstvo  had  never  been  established  over  all  of  Russia, 
but  only  in  the  provinces  of  Great  Russia.  Even  Little 
Russia  was  looked  upon  with  disfavour  in  this  arrange¬ 
ment,  and  Poland  was  absolutely  ignored. 

In  1870  a  similar  institution,  called  the  Town  Council, 
was  established  for  the  municipalities.  Here  the  prob¬ 
lem  of  local  government  was  still  more  difficult,  as  other 
classes  were  developing.  The  regulations  of  this  body 
were  similar  to  those  of  the  Zemstvo,  except  that  the 
merchants  were  taken  as  the  chief  unit.  In  Moscow  and 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  453 


St.  Petersburg,  the  Town  Council  numbers  about  one 
hundred  and  sixty  members.  In  towns  of  one  hundred 
thousand  there  are  about  eighty  members.  Small  towns 
have  a  council  of  probably  twelve  solons.  Their  first 
act  is  to  choose  a  mayor.  A  Council  Board  of  not  more 
than  six  members  is  then  selected  to  assist  him.  These 
men  form  a  sort  of  cabinet,  and  are  subject  to  the  au¬ 
thority  of  the  governor.  The  Council  can  make  what¬ 
ever  proposal  it  desires,  but  there  is  no  certainty  that  it 
will  become  a  law.  The  Councils  have  to  find  quarters 
for  the  troops,  and  must  make  room  for  as  many  as  the 
governor  chooses  to  send.  In  Moscow  this  requirement 
and  the  support  of  the  police  consumes  an  enormous 
proportion  of  the  city’s  taxes.  If  the  Town  Council 
wishes  to  buy  a  site  for  a  school  or  other  public  purpose, 
it  must  petition  the  Emperor.  A  commission  is  appointed 
to  view  the  matter  and  fix  the  price.  The  whole  matter 
is  then  referred  to  the  governor,  and  finally  to  the  Min¬ 
ister  of  the  Interior.  The  city  must  pay  the  price  fixed 
by  this  commission.  Much  friction  has  been  caused  by 
the  necessity  of  so  much  red  tape  and  the  reference  to 
so  many  officials. 

Let  us  turn  from  these  local  bodies  to  that  greater 
popular  assembly,  which  had  been  the  hope  of  the  Rus¬ 
sians  for  several  generations,  —  the  Duma.  On  Febru¬ 
ary  26th,  1906,  an  Imperial  ukase  fixed  May  10th  as 
the  date  for  the  sitting  of  the  new  Duma,  which  had  been 
promised  by  a  previous  Manifesto.  This  parliament  was 
to  consist  of  four  hundred  and  seventy-six  members,  of 
whom  four  hundred  and  twelve  would  represent  Euro¬ 
pean  Russia,  exclusive  of  Poland.  The  process  of  elec¬ 
tion  was  a  complicated  one.  The  old  class  distinction 
was  recognized,  so  that  landowners,  town  electors  and 
agricultural  peasants  were  all  to  meet  separately.  Men 


454  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


under  twenty-five,  police,  soldiers,  and  persons  under 
criminal  prosecution  were  excluded  from  the  franchise. 
Small  districts  elected  delegates,  a  group  of  these  dele¬ 
gates  chose  electors,  and  these  electors  finally  selected 
the  member.  All  of  the  elections  were  conducted  under 
police  supervision.  Liberal  papers  were  suppressed,  lib¬ 
eral  meetings  forbidden,  and  liberal  candidates  removed 
to  prison  in  many  instances.  Some  of  the  members 
chosen  were  at  once  arrested,  and  thrust  into  confinement 
by  the  authorities.  All  the  sixty-six  candidates  selected 
by  the  workmen  in  Odessa  were  imprisoned,  and  the 
workmen  were  directed  to  choose  reactionaries. 

Another  Imperial  Manifesto  was  issued,  and  the  Coun¬ 
cil  of  the  Empire  was  reorganized  as  an  Upper  House, 
making  it  consist  of  an  equal  number  of  elected  and 
appointed  members,  and  further  limiting  the  powers  of 
the  Duma.  The  elected  members  of  the  Council  were 
to  represent  the  Zemstvo,  Town  Councils,  the  Univer¬ 
sities,  the  Bourse,  the  Holy  Synod,  and  landowners  of 
Poland.  Both  the  Council  and  the  Duma  were  to  be 
convoked  annually  and  have  equal  legislative  powers, 
and  every  measure  must  be  passed  by  both  bodies  before 
being  submitted  to  the  Czar.  In  this  way  elected  men, 
who  owed  their  positions  to  the  ballot-box,  and  appointed 
men,  who  had  behind  them  the  traditional  bureaucracy, 
were  thrust  into  the  ring  together  to  contest  the  question 
of  the  survival  of  the  strongest.  Bills  passed  by  bath 
houses,  but  not  approved  by  the  Czar,  could  not  be 
brought  in  again  during  the  same  session.  Thus  was  a 
further  check  provided  for  the  Duma. 

A  number  of  parties  took  part  in  the  elections  for  the 
Duma.  The  most  active  were  the  Constitution  Demo¬ 
crats,  generally  known  as  the  Cadets.  This  party  had 
been  the  first  to  formulate  a  definite  programme,  and  was 


POLISH  ELECTORS  SELECTING  DELEGATES  TO  THE  FIRST  DUMA 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  455 


excellently  disciplined  under  able  leaders.  It  established 
local  committees  all  over  the  Empire.  The  Cadets  car¬ 
ried  every  electoral  seat  in  St.  Petersburg.  On  May  8th, 
two  days  before  the  newly  elected  body  was  to  convene, 
a  ukase  was  promulgated  of  Fundamental  Laws,  which 
could  not  be  altered.  These  included  the  right  of  the 
Autocrat  to  have  the  power  of  veto  and  the  appointment 
of  ministers  and  judges;  and  the  sole  privilege  of  pro¬ 
posing  changes  in  the  Fundamental  Laws,  declaring  war 
or  peace,  promulgating  special  laws,  and  establishing 
martial  law.  Freedom  of  speech,  meeting  or  union  were 
permitted  “  under  established  legal  conditions.”  This 
was  proof  enough  that  the  government  was  prepared 
to  protect  itself  against  any  serious  innovation.  This 
elaborately  contrived  quasi-constitution  conferred  on  the 
Duma  only  such  power  as  it  could  grasp  and  hold  by  its 
own  strength.  It  was  ushered  into  an  untrodden  field, 
where  nothing  was  yielded  to  it  as  a  matter  of  right  by 
the  administrative  bureaucracy  or  the  executive  autoc¬ 
racy,  for  no  part  of  the  pre-existing  political  system  was 
removed  to  make  way  for  the  new  body.  In  every  way 
a  method  was  left  for  the  government  machine  to  work 
by  itself,  if  the  Duma  refused  to  work  with  it.  During 
the  sittings  of  the  first  two  Dumas,  it  may  be  said,  all 
parties  observed  a  kind  of  unwritten  truce.  The  terror¬ 
ists  abstained  from  their  crimes,  and,  on  the  other  side, 
the  government  accorded  an  unwonted  measure  of  liberty 
to  the  press. 

When  the  Duma  finally  met,  the  Cadets  had  the  strong¬ 
est  representation.  The  occasion  was  declared  a  general 
holiday.  The  church  bells  welcomed  the  day  with  a 
noisy  clanging.  The  opening  ceremony  was  held  in  the 
large  coronation  hall  of  the  Winter  Palace.  Every  pre¬ 
caution  had  been  taken  to  admit  no  unauthorized  person, 


456  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


and  to  protect  the  Czar.  Senators  were  there  dressed 
in  brilliant  scarlet  and  gold;  ministers  with  gold  lace 
on  their  coats,  admirals,  radiant  field  marshals,  generals, 
priests,  etc.,  were  likewise  on  hand  on  this  historic 
occasion.  There  was  a  platform  full  of  uniforms,  upon 
which  gleamed  stars  and  crosses  and  medals.  Then  came 
the  members  of  the  Duma  —  “  sturdy  peasants  in  home- 
spun  cloth,  one  Little  Russian  in  brilliant  purple  with 
broad  blue  breeches,  one  Lithuanian  Catholic  Bishop  in 
violet  robes,  three  Tartar  Mullahs  with  turbans  and  long 
gray  cassocks,  a  Balkan  peasant  in  white  embroidered 
coat,  four  Orthodox  monks  with  shaggy  hair,  a  few 
ordinary  gentlemen  in  evening  dress,  and  the  vast  body 
of  the  elected  in  the  clothing  of  every  day  ”  —  four  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  in  all.  Shining  with  decorations  were  the 
members  of  the  bureaucracy  on  one  side,  and  facing 
them  were  the  representatives  of  the  people. 

Then  came  the  Czar  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
representatives  of  the  people.  He  was  met  by  a  Metro¬ 
politan,  who  gave  him  the  holy  kiss  and  a  bunch  of  green 
herbs  dipped  in  consecrated  water.  The  priests  chanted 
in  thundering  tones,  a  choir  sang,  and  a  religious  sanc¬ 
tity  was  given  the  whole  scene.  Then  the  Czar  mounted 
the  steps  of  the  throne,  summoned  all  the  dignity  of 
which  he  is  capable,  and  read  his  address.  But  it  was 
short,  and  meant  nothing  to  an  expectant  people.  There 
was  naught  in  it  but  mere  platitudes.  It  contained  no 
suggestion  whatever  of  a  programme  for  legislation.  Of 
this  great  mistake  the  Duma  took  immediate  advantage. 

The  same  day  the  Duma  met  in  the  Taurida  Palace, 
which  had  been  assigned  to  it,  for  its  opening  session. 
This  palace  was  built  in  1783  by  Catherine  II  for  her 
favourite,  Prince  Potemkin,  after  his  conquest  of  the 
Crimea,  and  it  takes  its  name  from  the  province  of  Tau- 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  457 

rida,  to  which  the  Crimea  belongs.  That  courtier,  who 
really  ruled  Russia,  used  to  entertain  his  royal  mistress 
here  on  a  lavish  scale.  After  his  death  it  dropped  back 
to  the  Crown.  Under  Paul  it  was  used  as  a  barracks, 
for  thus  he  wished  to  show  contempt  for  his  mother’s 
favourite.  Later  it  became  a  retreat  for  superannuated 
ladies  of  the  court.  Since  its  allotment  to  the  Duma, 
the  Taurida  Palace  has  been  the  birthplace  and  tomb 
of  many  high  hopes. 

The  Cadets  had  nearly  two  hundred  members  in  this 
first  Duma,  and,  with  the  more  radical  labour  group, 
had  a  majority.  They  elected  Muromtzev,  one  of  the 
members  for  Moscow,  president.  The  selection  was  a 
wise  one.  He  was  a  trained  lawyer  of  great  distinction, 
had  a  dignified  presence,  and  was  a  splendid  speaker. 
There  was  a  fine  democracy  about  this  first  assembly 
of  the  people.  Men  spoke  freely  and  eloquently,  ad¬ 
dressing  the  members  sometimes  as  “  Comrades.”  The 
President  freely  interrupted  the  speakers,  and  instructed 
them  on  parliamentary  law.  The  first  serious  matter 
was  to  select  a  committee  of  thirty-three  to  draw  up  an 
address  in  answer  to  the  Czar’s  speech.  Radicals  wanted 
every  demand  put  in  it,  while  the  conservatives  did  not 
wish  to  arouse  the  government  opposition  at  so  early  a 
stage. 

As  finally  presented  the  address  was  exceedingly  clev¬ 
erly  drafted,  and  a  comparatively  moderate  tone  pre¬ 
vailed.  It  was  debated  sentence  by  sentence  before  final 
adoption.  The  discussions  on  this  reply  to  the  Czar  first 
revealed  the  irreconcilable  character  of  the  assembly. 
It  showed  that  “  extreme  ”  side  of  the  Russian  mind, 
which  has  been  described  elsewhere,  and  the  lack  of  that 
spirit  of  compromise  which  has  helped  the  Anglo-Saxon 
so  much.  The  principal  debate  centred  around  the  land 


458  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


question,  amnesty  for  political  prisoners,  and  universal 
suffrage,  with  the  responsibilities  of  the  ministers  and 
all  the  Czar’s  officials  to  the  Duma,  and  not  to  himself. 
In  other  words,  the  demand  was  for  a  wholly  democratic 
state. 

The  most  acrimonious  debate  of  all,  perhaps,  was  that 
over  the  demand  for  political  amnesty.  One  faction 
rightly  demanded  that  amnesty  should  be  two-sided,  and 
that  the  Duma  should,  in  the  name  of  the  country,  de¬ 
mand  that  murders  of  officials  should  cease.  The  oppo¬ 
nents  of  this  view  won  the  day,  and  a  great  tactical  mis¬ 
take  was  made.  The  Czar  refused  to  receive  President 
Muromtzev  and  the  address,  and  the  Duma  was  ordered 
to  send  it  to  the  Marshal  of  the  Court.  This  gave  an 
impression  that  he  held  himself  aloof  from  the  Duma. 
The  Ministers  came  to  the  Duma  to  protest  against  cer¬ 
tain  passages.  Then  many  speakers  broke  out  in  open 
criticism  of  the  government.  They  cited  instance  after 
instance  of  official  abuse;  and  these  high  representatives 
of  bureaucracy  had  to  sit  still  and  listen.  A  vote  of  cen¬ 
sure  was  carried  without  any  opposition. 

Many  bills  were  introduced  into  the  Duma.  Among 
them  were  measures  guaranteeing  freedom  of  conscience 
and  the  inviolability  of  the  person.  Only  one  became 
a  law,  however,  and  that  was  a  vote  of  credit  to  the 
government  to  relieve  peasant  distress.  With  only  one 
dissentient  a  measure  to  abolish  the  death  sentence  was 
passed.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  death  penalty,  except 
for  regicides,  and  under  martial  law,  had  been  abolished 
by  Elizabeth  in  1753.  But  the  government  did  not  want 
to  give  up  this  method  of  restraining  terrorism.  It  sent 
General  Pavlov  to  explain  that  it  refused  this  measure. 
The  idea  was  current  that  this  official  had  hastened  cer¬ 
tain  executions,  and  the  cry  of  “  murderer  ”  greeted  him. 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  459 

The  tension  between  the  Duma  and  ministers  was  too 
severe  to  last.  Rumours  of  dissolution  began  to  fill  the 
air.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  government  was  in  a  pan¬ 
icky  state.  A  strong  faction  was  in  favour  of  yielding 
everything  and  selecting  a  ministry  from  the  members  of 
the  Duma,  which  was  what  the  dominant  party  in  that 
body  demanded.  Disorders  were  still  rife  in  many  of 
the  provinces,  and  mutinies  were  occurring  in  occasional 
regiments.  It  was  feared  that  a  dissolution  would  be 
the  signal  for  the  final  catastrophe.  But  Peter  Stolypin 
thought  otherwise,  and  he  urged  decisive  action.  His 
views  prevailed,  and,  on  July  21st,  the  Emperor  signed 
the  decree  of  dissolution.  He  expressed  in  no  uncertain 
terms  his  disappointment-  in  what  he  termed  the  fac¬ 
tious  spirit  of  the  Duma.  The  Cadets  and  Labour  Group 
adjourned  to  Viborg,  Finland,  and  issued  a  manifesto. 
This  manifesto  called  for  passive  resistance  in  every  way. 
It  advised  the  people  to  refuse  taxes  and  recruits  for  the 
army,  and  denounced  the  foreign  loans.  Such  resistance, 
if  fully  carried  out,  could  not  long  remain  peaceful.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  people  did  not  rally  to  the  mani¬ 
festo.  Terrorist  outrages  began  again,  and  there  was 
scarcely  a  day  in  which  a  long  list  of  political  murders 
and  attempts  at  murder  was  not  published  in  the  news¬ 
papers.  Professional  thugs  and  highwaymen  adopted 
the  methods  of  the  revolutionists,  knowing  that  the  crime 
would  be  put  down  as  “  political.”  The  fact  that  no 
general  uprising  followed  the  dissolution  shows  that 
public  sentiment  had  again  undergone  a  change,  and 
that  the  radicals  had  lost  their  golden  opportunity. 

For  the  second  Duma  the  franchise  laws  were  modi¬ 
fied  in  order  to  prevent  the  election  of  so  many  radical 
members.  The  police  likewise  freely  interfered  in  the 
elections.  The  elections  in  one  province  were  quashed 


460  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

without  any  reason  being  assigned.  In  Kiev  thirteen 
thousand  voters  were  struck  off  the  list,  because  their 
apartments  did  not  correspond  to  the  official’s  idea  of 
a  home,  as  specified  by  the  law.  In  some  provinces  the 
newspapers  were  even  forbidden  to  mention  political 
questions.  The  surprising  result  was  an  increased  num¬ 
ber  of  avowedly  revolutionary  deputies,  nearly  one-half 
of  the  whole.  A  contributing  cause  to  this  condition 
was  undoubtedly  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
elections,  which  discouraged  the  moderately  liberal  ele¬ 
ments.  The  majority  was  made  up  of  moderates,  Social 
Democrats,  and  extreme  reactionaries.  This  Duma  met 
on  the  5th  of  March,  1907.  The  government  and  new 
Duma  were  soon  at  loggerheads.  The  Czar  wished  the 
Duma  to  acquiesce  in  certain  government  measures 
against  revolutionists  and  so-called  political  crimes. 
This  body  refused  its  assent.  It  likewise  declined  to 
pass  a  resolution  condemning  the  assassination  of  public 
officials,  without  a  reference  to  the  arbitrary  and  equally 
violent  acts  of  the  government.  In  this  as  well  as  other 
matters  this  body  showed  but  scant  statesmanship  and 
legislative  capacity.  The  Cadets,  and  even  the  more 
revolutionary  deputies,  wished  for  many  things  which 
were  good  for  the  people,  and  these  were  put  forth  in 
speeches  which  were  really  eloquent.  But  the  leaders  in 
the  second  Duma,  as  well  as  in  the  first,  had  altogether 
too  narrow  a  view  of  their  political  work.  They  seemed 
to  prefer  an  appeal  to  that  vague  element,  called  the 
“  country,”  rather  than  settle  down  to  the  practical  work 
of  legislation,  where  each  one  must  give  to,  as  well  as 
take  from,  his  opponents. 

The  Czar  accused  the  Duma  of  encouraging  the  rev¬ 
olutionary  movement  by  using  its  right  of  questioning 
the  government,  and  thus  stirring  up  distrust.  The  charge 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  461 


was  undoubtedly  true,  as  the  radical  members  neglected 
no  opportunity  of  “  playing  to  the  galleries.”  It  may 
be  said  in  passing  that  an  absolute  freedom  of  speech 
has  characterized  each  Duma.  It  is  as  complete  as  in 
the  British  House  of  Commons.  The  violent  speeches 
of  a  Labour  or  Socialist  member  are  oftentimes  reported 
in  full,  and  the  press  censor  has  no  power  to  stop  it. 
Neither  side  would  yield  in  this  contest  for  supremacy, 
but  the  Czar  held  the  winning  hand.  The  experience 
of  the  previous  year  had  taught  the  Autocrat  his  power. 
The  second  Duma  was  accordingly  dissolved  on  June 
16th,  on  the  ground  that  it  had  not,  after  two  months’ 
session,  yet  examined  the  budget.  This  was  merely  a 
pretext.  Fifty  of  the  deputies  were  arrested  and  tried 
by  the  government,  and  a  third  of  this  number  were 
sentenced  to  hard  labour  in  the  mines.  Another  third 
were  exiled,  and  only  a  few  escaped  punishment  en¬ 
tirely. 

The  third  Duma  was  called  soon  after  the  dissolution 
of  the  second.  Many  resolved  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  this  election  because  of  the  high-handed  action  of 
the  government.  The  government  took  advantage  of 
the  clause  in  the  Fundamental  Laws  permitting  it  to 
promulgate  laws  in  case  of  emergency,  when  the  legis¬ 
lative  bodies  are  not  in  session.  By  a  ukase ,  popularly 
called  the  coup  d’etat ,  the  electors  of  the  workingmen, 
the  peasants  and  poorer  part  of  the  city  population,  were 
reduced  to  one-half  their  former  number.  Poland,  Si¬ 
beria  and  the  Caucasus  were  practically  proscribed,  so 
that  their  representation  was  reduced  from  eighty-nine 
to  thirty-nine.  The  total  membership  of  the  body  was 
brought  down  from  five  hundred  and  forty-two  to  four 
hundred  and  forty.  The  vote  of  the  landlords  was  in¬ 
creased.  This  left  the  majority  of  the  provinces,  and 


462  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 

the  cities  as  well,  almost  entirely  in  the  landlords’  power. 
Under  this  law  the  vote  of  a  landlord  was  equal  to  that 
of  ten  ordinary  citizens,  but  every  such  citizen  had  the 
vote  of  fifty  peasants,  and  of  more  than  fifty  working¬ 
men.  As  a  result  the  radical  forces,  who  numbered 
almost  one-half  in  the  second  Duma,  were  reduced  to 
less  than  one-eighth. 

Of  the  members  elected  to  the  third  Duma,  about  one 
hundred  and  forty  were  landowners,  ranging  from  no¬ 
bles  with  immense  estates  to  small  squires;  eighty  were 
peasants;  forty  were  priests  of  the  Orthodox  Church, 
and  there  were  about  the  same  number  of  lawyers ;  about 
a  score  were  physicians,  and  an  equal  number  retired 
army  or  navy  officers ;  the  others  were  school-teachers, 
university  professors,  journalists  and  business  men.1 
The  largest  united  body  were  the  Octobrists,  who  num¬ 
bered  one  hundred  and  fifty  at  the  first  sitting,  but  lost 
thirty  before  the  Duma  ended.  This  body  nominally 
claimed  its  existence  on  the  promised  liberties  of  the 
October  Manifesto,  which  was  the  birth  certificate  of 
the  Duma  itself.  It  generally  merged  with  the  Nation¬ 
alists  on  questions  affecting  the  country.  The  Nation¬ 
alists,  who  are  landowners,  numbered  an  even  hundred. 
They  were  held  together  for  mutual  protection  because 
of  the  threatened  expropriation  of  land  by  the  early 
Dumas.  Many  of  them  had  been  burned  out  during 
peasant  uprisings.  There  were  fifty  Rights,  the  extreme 
supporters  of  the  government.  The  Cadets  had  fallen 
to  fifty-six  members,  and  there  were  only  twenty  Social 
Democrats.  The  Labour  Group  had  a  paltry  thirteen 
members.  Of  all  these  groups,  the  only  one  with  any- 

1 1  am  indebted  for  these  figures  and  some  other  information  in  this 
chapter  to  The  Russian  Review,  published  by  The  School  of  Russian 
Studies  in  the  University  of  Liverpool. 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  463 

thing  that  can  be  called  a  party  organization,  as  we 
understand  the  term,  is  the  Cadets. 

About  the  only  reason  that  the  government  has  for 
perpetuating  the  Duma,  as  it  is  to-day,  is  that  it  helps 
credit  abroad,  and  unifies  the  privileged  classes  against 
the  democratic  aspirations  of  those  below.  It  has  legally 
been  decided  by  the  highest  court  that  it  is  illegal  for 
any  organization  to  even  ask  for  real  constitutional  gov¬ 
ernment.  The  constant  changes  in  the  election  laws  alone 
show  that  the  Czar  himself  recognizes  no  fundamental 
laws  which  he  cannot  change  at  any  time. 

The  third  Duma  remained  fairly  pliant  for  three  years, 
and  was  able  to  get  along  quite  well  with  the  ministers. 
In  1911,  however,  a  measure  providing  for  Zemstvo  in 
six  new  governments  passed  the  Duma,  but  was  rejected 
by  the  Council.  By  a  stroke  of  the  pen  Stolypin  pro¬ 
rogued  both  houses  for  three  days,  in  order  to  create 
an  interregnum,  and  the  bill  was  promulgated  as  a  law 
by  Imperial  ukase.  Thus  the  worst  blow  to  the  Duma 
was  struck  by  the  man  who  had  been  its  best  friend,  for 
Stolypin  had  been  a  thorough  Duma  man.  He  had  made 
it  a  condition  before  he  accepted  office  that  the  Duma 
should  be  retained.  In  the  succeeding  violent  session 
Stolypin  counted  on  the  support  of  the  Duma.  He  ap¬ 
peared  before  that  body,  and  explained  the  government’s 
position.  He  gave  solemn  assurance  that  no  measure 
would  be  proclaimed  a  law  under  the  emergency  clause, 
unless  it  had  first  received  the  approval  of  the  Duma. 
To  Stolypin’s  surprise,  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  he  was 
condemned  as  a  violator  of  legality.  He  resigned,  but 
afterwards  accepted  the  office  again  and  served  to  his 
death.  But  this  was  simply  the  beginning  of  discord 
in  the  third  Duma,  which  continued  in  greater  or  lesser 
degree,  until  its  dissolution  by  operation  of  law  in  Sep- 


464  The  Russian  Empire  of  To-Day 


tember,  1 912.  At  the  same  time  elections  were  called 
for  the  fourth  Duma  to  meet  the  following  month. 

The  best  work  of  the  third  Duma  was  in  the  detail 
work.  This  was  done  mostly  in  committees,  and  behind 
closed  doors.  In  this  way  the  members  were  familiarized 
with  the  needs  of  the  government,  and  with  the  require¬ 
ments  of  its  vast  administrative  system.  A  ruinous  war 
and  internal  revolution  had  left-  the  finances  in  a  terrible 
condition.  The  navy  had  been  practically  annihilated 
and  the  army  badly  disorganized.  The  government  has 
been  obliged  to  make  public  its  expenditures  and  souices 
of  revenue  in  detail,  and  to  solicit  the  aid  of  the  Duma 
in  meeting  its  expenditures  by  increased  revenues.  To 
maintain  majorities  it  has  been  obliged  to  form  coali¬ 
tions  with  other  parties.  This  has  begun  to  develop  a 
spirit  of  compromise  and  concession  which  may  eventu¬ 
ally  result  in  much  good  for  the  country.  In  the  prep¬ 
aration  of  budgets  the  third  Duma  has  left  some  actual 
results  in  legislation. 

The  elections  for  the  fourth  Duma  were  in  reality 
a  farce,  when  judged  by  critical  standards.  The  gov¬ 
ernment  interfered  in  every  way  with  their  conduct. 
Many  of  the  important  centres  are  still  in  a  state  of 
“  reinforced  protection,”  which  is  a  modified  condition 
of  martial  law.  In  these  the  authorities  disposed  of 
candidates  as  they  saw  fit.  Under  the  present  franchise 
law  it  is  unlikely  that  the  landed  interests  will  ever  lose 
their  preponderance,  even  when  there  is  no  interference 
from  above.  At  the  final  electoral  meeting  in  each  prov¬ 
ince,  the  landowners  send  at  least  one  of  their  members 
direct  to  the  Duma  by  a  vote  in  which  no  other  class 
of  electors  is  allowed  to  participate;  and  in  the  cities 
there  is  also  a  franchise  of  property  owners,  who  send 
their  member  direct  to  the  Duma  without  any  reference 


Beginnings  of  Representative  Government  465 


to  the  general  mass  of  voters.  Under  this  system  at  least 
a  third  of  the  Duma  is  practically  insured  to  the  land- 
owners. 

The  Orthodox  Church  was  even  more  active  in  the 
1912  election  than  in  that  of  1907.  The  priests  had  been 
aroused  over  some  measures  introduced  into  that  body 
which  placed  the  schools  of  the  Church  under  secular 
inspection,  and  deprived  the  religious  schools  of  some 
of  the  public  money.  They  were  mobilized  by  the  Min¬ 
ister  of  the  Interior  as  “  small  landowners,”  in  order 
to  add  to  their  prestige.  As  a  result  of  the  activity  of 
the  Church  and  government,  the  number  of  Orthodox 
priests  returned  to  the  new  Duma  is  increased.  The 
Octobrists  have  a  lessened  following,  according  to  the 
latest  information  obtainable.  The  government  follow¬ 
ing  in  the  Council  of  the  Empire  has  been  greatly 
strengthened,  and  this  fact,  together  with  the  animosi¬ 
ties  already  aroused,  does  not  augur  any  better  results 
from  the  fourth  Duma  than  from  its  immediate  prede¬ 
cessor,  which  was  the  first  real  Parliament,  the  only  one 
to  run  its  full  course.  A  prediction  cannot  be  made 
with  certainty,  however,  for  public  opinion  occasionally 
changes  rapidly  in  Russia,  and  this  change  is  sometimes 
reflected  in  the  members  already  elected  to  the  national 
legislative  body. 

The  very  existence  of  a  Duma  is  in  itself  a  hopeful 
condition.  It  is  a  guarantee  that  the  principles  enu¬ 
merated  in  the  Czar’s  Manifesto  of  October  30th,  1905, 
which  will  be  found  in  the  appendix,  will  not  disappear 
from  public  view.  It  is  a  stepping-stone  to  the  better 
things  which  the  future  must  assuredly  have  in  store 
for  this  great  and  marvellous  Empire. 


THE  END. 


APPENDICES 


I 

AREA  AND  POPULATION 

The  area  of  Russia  is  officially  given  as  8,660,395 
square  miles.  This  territory  is  unevenly  divided  into 
ninety-nine  provinces  or  governments,  of  which  fifty  are 
in  European  Russia.  The  largest  division  is  that  of 
Yakutsk,  in  Siberia,  which  has  an  area  of  1,533,397 
square  miles.  It  is  almost  an  empire  in  itself,  but  has 
a  population  of  only  261,731.  The  last  census  was  taken 
in  1897,  when  the  population  was  reported  as  129,004,- 
514.  In  1910  the  Russian  Bureau  of  Statistics  estimated 
the  population  at  163,778,800.  The  three  leading  cities 
are  credited  with  the  following  number  of  inhabitants : 
St.  Petersburg,  1,907,708;  Moscow,  1,481,200;  War¬ 
saw,  781,179.  The  following  table  gives  the  area  and 
population  of  European  Russia  by  governments,  with 
the  population  (except  Finland)  as  estimated  for  1910: 


GOVERNMENT  OR  PROVINCE 

European  Russia 
Archangel 
Astrakhan 
Bessarabia 
Chernigov 
Courland 

Don,  Region  of  the 

Ekaterinoslav 

Esthonia 

Grodno 

Kaluga 

Kazan 

Kharkov 

Kherson 

Kiev 


AREA 

POPULATION,  1910 

331,640 

437,800 

91,327 

1,246,000 

17,619 

2,441,200 

20,233 

■  2,975,500 

10,535 

741,200 

63,532 

3,496,300 

24,478 

3,061,300 

7,818 

467,400 

14,931 

1,951,700 

11,942 

1,387,100 

24,601 

2,711,000 

21,041 

3,245,900 

27,523 

3,447,100 

19,691 

4,556,000 

467 


468 


Appendices 


GOVERNMENT  OR  PROVINCE 

European  Russia 
Kostroma 
Kovno 
Kursk 
Livonia 
Minsk 
Moghilev 
Moscow 
Nijni  Novgorod 
Novgorod 
Olonets 
Orel 

Orenburg 

Penza 

Perm 

Podolia 

Poltava 

Pskov 

Ryazan 

St.  Petersburg 

Samara 

Saratov 

Simbirsk 

Smolensk 

Tambov 

Taurida 

Tula 

Tver 

Ufa 

Vilna 

Vitebsk 

Vladimir 

Volhynia 

Vologda 

Voronezh 

Vyatka 

Yaroslav 

Poland 

Kalisz 

Kielce 

Lomza 

Lublin 

Piotkrow 

Plock 

Radom 

Siedlce 

Suwalki 

Warsaw 

Finland 

Abo-Bjorneburg 

Kuopio 


AREA 

POPULATION,  I9IO 

32,490 

1,700,900 

15,692 

1,775,900 

17,937 

3,016,700 

18,158 

1,455,400 

35,293 

2,813,400 

18,551 

2,214,900 

12,859 

3,215,400 

19,797 

1,999,300 

47,236 

1,638,500 

57,439 

443,400 

18,042 

2,580,400 

73,8i6 

2,065,200 

14,997 

1,803,900 

128,211 

3,731,200 

16,224 

3,743,700 

19,265 

3,580,100 

17,069 

1,354,800 

16,255 

2,408,400 

20,760 

2,882,900 

58,321 

3,544,500 

32,624 

3,094,700 

19,110 

1,931,700 

21,638 

1,949,600 

25,710 

3,412,900 

24,497 

1,876,200 

ii,954 

1,773,700 

25,225 

2,177,200 

47,112 

2,890,700 

16,421 

1,996,900 

17,440 

1,833,900 

18,864 

1,895,900 

27,743 

3,846,500 

155,498 

1,525,200 

25,443 

3,355,700 

59,329 

3,747,000 

I3,75i 

1,218,300 

4,392 

1,126,700 

3,897 

965,200 

4,667 

683,600 

6,501 

1,508,300 

4,729 

1,933,400 

4,200 

700,000 

4,769 

1,080,800 

5,535 

981,900 

4,846 

667,300 

5,523 

2,482,000 

9,333 

430,194 

16,499 

305,166 

Appendices 


469 


GOVERNMENT  OR  PROVINCE 

AREA 

POPULATION,  igiO 

Finland 

Nyland 

4,584 

276,335 

St.  Michel 

8,819 

186,478 

Tavastehus 

8,334 

285,281 

Uleaborg 

63,957 

268,226 

Viborg 

13,530 

394,412 

Vasa 

16,105 

446,772 

Asiatic  Russia 

Ciscaucasia 

86,661 

5,039,600 

Transcaucasia 

94,182 

6,695,500 

The  Steppes 

755,793 

3,282,100 

Turkestan 

409,434 

6,250,500 

Trans-Caspian 

214,237 

440,800 

Siberia 

4,833,496 

8,220,100 

II 


THE  CZAR’S  MANIFESTO 

In  order  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  usual  style 
of  an  Imperial  Manifesto,  and  to  enable  him  to  judge 
whether  the  promises  set  forth  as  the  “  unchangeable 
will  ”  of  the  Autocrat  have  been  kept,  the  Manifesto  of 
October  17th  (Russian  Calendar),  1905,  which  was 
heralded  as  a  sort  of  Magna  Charta  in  its  guarantee  of 
human  liberties,  is  herewith  given  : 

We,  Nicholas  II,  by  God’s  Grace  Emperor  and  Auto¬ 
crat  of  all  the  Russias,  Czar  of  Poland,  Grand  Duke  of 
Finland,  etc.,1  announce  to  our  loyal  subjects:  The  dis¬ 
turbances  and  movements  in  our  principal  cities  and  nu¬ 
merous  other  places  in  our  realm  fill  our  heart  with 
great  and  intense  anguish.  The  happiness  of  the  Rus¬ 
sian  Ruler  is  inseparably  bound  with  the  happiness  of  the 

1  A  partial  list  of  the  Czar’s  titles  is  as  follows:  King  of  Poland,  Grand 
Duke  of  Finland,  Czar  of  Moscow,  Kiev,  Vladimir,  Novgorod,  Kazan, 
Astrakhan,  Siberia,  the  Tauric  Chersonese,  Georgia,  Lord  of  Pskov,  Grand 
Duke  of  Smolensk,  Lithuania,  Volhynia,  Podolia,  Prince  of  Esthonia, 
Livonia,  Courland  and  Semigallia,  Samogitia,  Bielostok,  Carelia,  Tver, 
Yougoria,  Perm,  Viatka,  Bolgaria,  and  other  countries;  Lord  and  Grand 
Duke  of  Lower  Novgorod,  Tchernigov,  Riazan,  Polotsk,  Rostov,  Yaroslav, 
Belosero,  Oudoria,  Obdoria,  Condia,  Vitebsk,  Mstislaw,  and  all  the  region 
of  the  North,  Lord  and  Sovereign  of  the  lands  of  Iveria,  Cartalinia,  Kabar- 
dinia,  and  the  Provinces  of  Armenia;  Sovereign  of  the  Circassian  and 
Mountaineer  princes;  Lord  of  Turkestan,  heir  of  Norway,  Duke  of 
Schleswig-Holstein,  of  Stormarn,  of  the  Dithmarses,  and  of  Oldenburg,  etc. 

470 


Appendices 


471 


people  and  the  pain  of  the  people  is  the  pain  of  the  Ruler. 
From  the  present  conditions  there  may  arise  a  deep 
national  disturbance  and  danger  for  the  integrity  and 
unity  of  our  Empire. 

The  high  duty  of  our  mission  as  Ruler  compels  us  to 
bestir  ourselves  with  our  whole  might  and  power  to 
hasten  the  cessation  of  these  disorders  that  are  so  danger¬ 
ous  for  the  State. 

While  we  have  ordered  the  proper  officials  to  take 
measures  to  allay  the  direct  manifestations  of  disorder, 
riots  and  deeds  of  violence  and  for  the  protection  of  the 
peaceful  population  which  is  striving  to  quietly  fulfill  all 
of  the  duties  imposed  upon  it,  we  have  at  the  same  time 
recognized  it  as  indispensable  in  order  to  accomplish 
successfully  the  general  measures  for  the  calming  of  pub¬ 
lic  life  to  give  to  the  activity  of  the  highest  officials  of 
the  Government  a  unified  direction.  We  obligate  the 
Government  to  fulfill  our  unchangeable  will  as  follows: 

1.  The  population  is  to  be  given  the  inviolable  founda¬ 
tion  of  civil  rights  based  on  the  actual  inviolability  of 
the  person,  freedom  of  belief,  of  speech,  of  organization, 
and  meeting. 

2.  Without  interrupting  the  elections  already  ordered 
for  the  State  Duma,  and  as  far  as  the  shortness  of  the 
time  at  our  disposition  for  the  calling  of  the  first  Duma 
allows  —  such  classes  of  the  population  which  are  now 
altogether  shut  out  from  the  right  of  suffrage,  are  to  be 
called  to  participate  in  the  Duma,  upon  which  the  work¬ 
ing  out  of  the  principle  of  universal  suffrage  will  be  left 
to  the  new  legislative  body. 

3.  As  an  unchangeable  principle  it  is  declared  that  no 
law  can  be  put  into  effect  without  the  consent  of  the 
Duma  of  the  State  and  that  the  elected  representatives 
of  the  population  will  be  guaranteed  the  possibility  of  an 


472 


Appendices 


effective  share  in  the  revision  of  the  legality  of  the  com¬ 
mands  of  officials  appointed  by  us. 

We  rely  on  all  true  sons  of  Russia  to  reflect  concerning 
their  duty  to  the  Fatherland  to  work  together  for  the 
cessation  of  the  present  unheard-of  disturbances  of  order, 
and  to  place  all  their  powers  along  with  ourselves  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Cause  of  the  restoration  of  order  and 
peace  in  the  Fatherland.  Given  at  Peterhof  on  the  17th 
October,  1905,  in  the  eleventh  year  of  our  reign. 

Nicholas. 


Ill 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  TRAVELLERS 

So  many  sensational  reports  appear  concerning  the 
difficulties  of  travel  in  Russia,  that  many  people  hesitate 
to  visit  that  country.  As  he  approaches  the  land  of  the 
Czar  the  prospective  visitor  will  undoubtedly  examine, 
time  and  again,  the  large  sheet  of  paper  with  a  red  seal 
thereon,  which  affirms  the  fact  that  he  or  she  is  an  Amer¬ 
ican  citizen.  The  Russian  officials  frequently  board  the 
train  at  the  last  station  before  reaching  the  Russian 
border  and  take  up  the  passports  of  all  passengers  bound 
for  Russia.  The  traveller  without  a  passport  would  not 
be  permitted  to  cross  the  Russian  border.  When  a  train 
arrives  at  the  first  Russian  town,  all  exits  from  the  sta¬ 
tion  are  closed  and  carefully  guarded,  while  an  exam¬ 
ination  is  made  of  the  passports.  After  a  delay  of  an 
hour  or  so  the  official  will  call  out  the  names,  as  they 
appear  to  him,  and  you  are  supposed  to  be  ready  to  claim 
yours.  The  vise  of  a  Russian  consul  is  all  the  formal¬ 
ity  that  is  necessary  to  go  through  in  order  to  properly 
validate  your  passport.  The  examination  of  baggage  is 
courteous,  and  much  less  troublesome  than  in  entering 
New  York.  Every  scrap  of  paper  in  the  baggage,  how¬ 
ever,  is  likely  to  be  examined,  and  any  newspapers  or 
magazines  will  probably  be  retained  for  the  censor.  It 
is  undoubtedly  well  for  one  to  be  a  little  discreet  in 
talking  when  travelling  in  this  country,  but  one  need 

473 


474 


Appendices 


have  no  fear  of  the  police  so  long  as  his  errand  is  legit¬ 
imate,  or  he  is  simply  travelling  for  pleasure. 

Railroad  travel  in  Russia  is  very  comfortable.  The 
gauge  is  broader  than  the  standard  railroad  gauge  of 
America,  and  this,  with  the  slower  speed,  makes  travel¬ 
ling  easy.  The  coaches  are  all  built  on  the  compartment 
system,  but  on  most  trains  “  platz  karts  ”  are  issued 
allowing  only  four  to  each  compartment.  At  night  the 
compartment  is  made  up  into  four  berths,  so  that  each 
occupant  has  a  place  to  sleep,  but  bed  covering  is  extra. 
It  is  a  very  good  plan  to  carry  one’s  own  traveller’s  shawl, 
if  the  trip  is  made  in  cold  weather.  The  fares  on  Rus¬ 
sian  railroads  are  very  cheap,  especially  if  you  are  trav¬ 
elling  a  long  distance.  The  fares  are  regulated  by  the 
“  zone  ”  system,  so  that  the  longer  the  distance  you  are 
journeying  the  cheaper  is  the  rate  of  fare.  Most  of 
the  trains  have  first,  second  and  third  class  compartments. 
The  third  class  is  quite  cleanly,  but  the  seats  are  without 
upholstering.  The  fare  for  this  class  on  a  long  journey 
is  most  inexpensive.  I  always  travelled  second  class,  and 
had  no  reason  to  complain  of  it.  From  Berlin  and  Vi¬ 
enna  good  through  trains  run  to  Warsaw,  St.  Petersburg, 
Moscow  and  Odessa,  but  it  is  necessary  to  change  coaches 
in  Russia  because  of  the  difference  in  gauge.  Upon  these 
through  trains  and  many  of  the  express  trains  between 
the  leading  cities,  sleeping  coaches  of  the  International 
Sleeping  Car  Company  will  be  found,  and  the  fares  are 
only  slightly  in  advance  of  the  regular  fares  for  first  and 
second  class.  The  trains  are  generally  on  time,  as  this 
is  not  a  difficult  matter  with  a  slow  schedule. 

A  good  way  to  reach  St.  Petersburg  in  the  summer, 
when  the  temperature  is  warm  and  the  twilight  long,  is 
by  steamer  from  Stockholm  or  some  port  on  the  Baltic 
Sea.  In  the  winter  one  should  be  well  supplied  with 


Appendices 


475 


furs  and  other  warm  clothing.  The  best  time  to  visit 
Russia  is  from  the  middle  of  May  to  the  early  part  of 
September.  Midwinter  is  likewise  pleasant  if  the  trav¬ 
eller  enjoys  snow  and  the  winter  sports. 

Hotel  accommodation  in  the  large  cities  is  very  com¬ 
fortable,  and  the  prices  are  not  cheap  by  any  means. 
In  Moscow  will  be  found  one  of  the  most  modern  and 
comfortable  hotels  in  all  Europe.  In  the  smaller  places 
hotel  accommodation  is  frequently  not  of  the  best.  In 
the  larger  places  it  is  sometimes  inadequate,  so  that  un¬ 
less  accommodation  is  secured  beforehand  one  may  find 
all  the  leading  hotels  filled.  Hence  it  is  advisable  to 
write  ahead  a  few  days  and  engage  your  accommodation, 
stating  the  price  you  are  willing  to  pay.  Excepting  in 
the  large  modern  hotels  it  is  well  to  have  a  distinct  under¬ 
standing  as  to  what  the  rates  are  to  include. 

The  money  of  Russia  is  not  difficult,  and  one  will 
soon  become  accustomed  to  it.  The  standard  is  the  rou¬ 
ble,  which  is  divided  into  one  hundred  kopecks.  Some 
gold  is  in  circulation,  but  most  of  the  money  is  paper. 
There  are  good  banks  in  all  of  the  leading  cities,  and 
one  will  have  no  difficulty  with  the  ordinary  forms  of 
exchange  which  are  carried  by  American  travellers  to 
other  parts  of  Europe. 

A  knowledge  of  either  German  or  French  is  of  great 
advantage  to  any  traveller  in  Russia,  and  the  one  is  about 
as  useful  as  the  other.  In  nearly  every  hotel,  in  the  banks, 
and  in  public  offices  some  one  will  be  found  who  can 
speak  these  languages,  and  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
to  find  a  crowd  at  a  station  in  any  city  of  any  size 
where  some  one  will  not  be  found  who  can  speak  these 
tongues.  The  Russian  language  itself  is  rather  difficult 
to  learn,  as  it  differs  radically  from  the  Latin  and  Teu¬ 
tonic  tongues.  The  roots  are  different  in  form,  and  it 


476 


Appendices 


is  highly  inflected.  There  are  thirty-six  letters  in  the 
alphabet,  some  of  which  are  Latin  characters,  some 
Greek,  and  others  purely  Russian.  Some  of  the  Latin 
characters  so  familiar  to  us  have  a  different  meaning. 
At  first  Russian  printing  looks  like  inscriptions  from 
Babylonian  tablets  to  a  stranger,  but  the  eye  soon  gets 
accustomed  to  the  forms  so  that  one  can  at  least  read 
the  street  signs. 

The  vise  of  a  passport  is  valid  for  six  months  from 
the  time  you  cross  the  border.  When  ready  to  leave, 
it  is  necessary  to  secure  a  special  permit,  which  is  a  purely 
formal  matter,  and  this  is  taken  up  at  the  border.  All 
passengers  are  securely  locked  in  the  car  while  the  pass¬ 
ports  are  again  examined,  and  the  doors  are  not  un¬ 
locked  until  the  train  has  started.  On  the  whole,  this 
experience  is  unique  and  interesting  rather  than  annoy¬ 
ing,  especially  if  your  own  document  is  in  proper  form. 


IV 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  number  of  books  written  about  Russia  and  the 
Russians  is  almost  legion.'  The  list  herewith  presented 
is  a  representative  list,  but  does  not  claim  completeness. 
It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  best  works  are  here 
enumerated.  For  convenience  I  have  classified  them 
under  three  different  headings. 

HISTORY  AND  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  MOVEMENTS 

Bain,  Robert  Nisbet:  The  First  Romanovs  (1612-1725).  1905. 
Baring,  Maurice:  A  Year  in  Russia  (1905).  London,  1906. 

Barry,  Richard:  Port  Arthur,  a  Monster  Heroism.  New  York, 
1905. 

Berard,  Victor:  The  Russian  Empire  and  Czarism.  London,  1905. 
Brodhead,  J.  Milliken  Napier:  Slav  and  Moslem.  Aiken,  S.  C., 
1893. 

Curtin,  Jeremiah  :  The  Mongols  in  Russia.  London,  1908. 
Dumas,  Alexander:  Celebrated  Crimes  of  the  Russian  Court. 
Boston,  1905. 

Foulke,  William  Dudley  :  Slav  or  Saxon :  A  Study  of  the  Growth 
and  Tendencies  of  Russian  Civilization.  New  York,  1899. 
George,  H.  B. :  Napoleon’s  Invasion  of  Russia.  London,  1899. 
Guild,  Curtis  :  Britons  and  Muscovites.  Boston,  1888. 

Kennan,  George:  Siberia  and  the  Exile  System.  2  vols.  New 
York,  1892. 

Latimer,  Elizabeth  Wormeley:  Russia  and  Turkey  in  the  19th 
Century.  Chicago,  1897. 

McCormick,  Frederick:  The  Tragedy  of  Russia  in  Pacific  Asia. 
2  vols.  New  York,  1907. 

Milyoukov,  Paul  :  Russia  and  Its  Crisis.  London,  1905. 

Morfill,  W.  R. :  The  Story  of  Russia.  New  York,,  1894. 

477 


478 


Appendices 


Munro,  H.  H. :  The  Rise  of  the  Russian  Empire.  Boston,  1905. 
Nevinson,  Henry  W. :  The  Dawn  in  Russia.  London,  1906. 
Parmelee,  Mary  P. :  A  Short  History  of  Russia.  New  York,  1900. 
Perris,  G.  H. :  Russia  in  Revolution.  London,  1905. 

Rambaud,  Alfred:  The  History  of  Russia,  from  the  Earliest  Times 
to  1877.  Translated  from  the  French.  2  vols.  New  York,  1879. 
Samson-Himmelstierna,  H.  von:  Russia  under  Alexander  III,  and 
in  the  Preceding  Period.  London,  1893. 

Schnitzler,  J.  H. :  Secret  History  of  the  Court  and  Government 
of  Russia  Under  the  Emperors  Alexander  and  Nicholas.  2  vols. 
London,  1847. 

Skrine,  Francis  Henry:  The  Expansion  of  Russia  (1815-1900). 
London,  1904. 

Stepniak,  S. :  Russia  Under  the  Tzars.  London,  1885. 

Stepniak,  S. :  Underground  Russia.  London,  1883. 

Thompson,  Herbert  M. :  Russian  Politics.  New  York,  1896. 
Tolstoi,  Leo:  Napoleon  and  the  Russian  Campaign.  London,  1888. 
Walling,  William  English:  Russia’s  Message;  the  True  World 
Import  of  the  Revolution.  New  York,  1908. 

Zilliacus,  Konni  :  The  Russian  Revolutionary  Movement.  Lon¬ 
don,  1905. 

SPECIAL  AND  SECTIONAL 

Baring,  Maurice:  Russian  Essays.  London,  1908. 

Bookwalter,  John  W. :  Siberia  and  Central  Asia.  New  York,  1899. 
Brueckner,  A  :  A  Literary  History  of  Russia.  1908. 

Clive-Bayley,  A.  M.  C. :  Vignettes  from  Finland.  London,  1895. 
Curtin,  J. :  Myths  and  Folk-Tales  of  the  Russians,  Slavs  and 
Magyars.  1890. 

Curtis,  William  E. :  Around  the  Black  Sea.  New  York,  1911. 
Cutcliffe-Hyne  :  Through  Arctic  Lapland.  London,  1898. 

Dobson,  G. :  St.  Petersburg.  London,  1910. 

Engelhardt,  Alexander  Platonovitch  (Governor  of  Archangel)  : 

A  Russian  Province  of  the  North.  London,  1899. 

Fisher,  Joseph  R. :  Finland  and  the  Tzars.  London,  1901. 

Frederic,  Harold:  A  New  Exodus;  a  Study  of  Israel  in  Russia. 
London,  1890. 

Gerrare,  Wirt:  The  Story  of  Moscow.  London,  1900. 

Hapcood,  Isabel  F. :  A  Survey  of  Russian  Literature,  with  Selec¬ 
tions.  Boston,  1902. 

Newmarch,  Rosa:  Poetry  and  Progress  in  Russia.  1907. 

Scott,  A.  Maccallum  :  Through  Finland.  London,  1909. 
Shoemaker,  M.  M. :  The  Great  Siberian  Railway.  New  York,  1903. 


Appendices  479 


Trevor-Battye,  A. :  A  Northern  Highway  of  the  Czar.  London, 
1898. 

Turner,  Samuel:  Siberia;  a  Record  of  Travel,  Climbing  and  Ex¬ 
ploration.  London,  1905. 

Tweedie,  Mrs.  Alec:  Through  Finland  in  Carts.  London,  1897. 
Villari,  Luigi:  Fire  and  Sword  in  the  Caucasus.  London,  1906. 
Windt,  Harry  de:  Finland  as  It  Is.  London,  1902. 

Wright,  George  Frederick:  Asiatic  Russia.  2  vols.  New  York, 
1902. 


GENERAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE 

Baring,  Maurice:  The  Russian' People.  London,  1911. 

Bazan,  E.  P. :  Russia,  Its  People  and  Its  Literature.  1901. 
Beveridge,  Albert  J. :  The  Russian  Advance.  New  York,  1903. 
Bigelow,  Poultney  :  The  Borderland  of  Czar  and  Kaiser.  New 
York,  1899. 

Brandes,  George:  Impressions  of  Russia.  New  York,  1889. 

Decle,  Lionel:  The  New  Russia.  London,  1906. 

Drage,  Geoffrey  :  Russian  Affairs.  London,  1904. 

Fraser,  John  Foster  :  Red  Russia.  London,  1907. 

Ganz,  Hugo:  The  Land  of  Riddles.  Translated  from  German. 
New  York,  1904. 

Geddie,  John.  :  The  Russian  Empire.  London,  1882. 

Hapgood,  Isabel  F. :  Russian  Rambles.  Boston,  1896. 

Joubert,  Carl:  Russia  as  It  Really  Is.  London,  1905. 

Kovalevski,  M. :  Russian  Political  Institutions.  Chicago,  1902. 
Leroy-Beaulieu,  Henri  Jean  Baptiste  Anatole:  The  Empire  of 
the  Tzars  and  the  Russians.  3  vols.  New  York,  1898. 

Logan,  John  A.,  Jr.:  In  Joyful  Russia.  New  York,  1897. 

Meakin,  Annette  M.  B. :  Russia,  Travels  and  Studies.  London, 
1906. 

Noble,  Edmund:  Russia  and  the  Russians.  New  York,  1900. 
Norman,  Henry:  All  the  Russias.  London,  1902. 

Palmer,  Francis  H.  E. :  Russian  Life  in  Town  and  Country.  New 
York,  1901. 

Pares,  Bernard  :  Russia  and  Reform.  London,  1907. 

Proctor,  Edna  Dean  :  A  Russian  Journey.  New  York,  1890. 
Schierbrand,  Wolf  von  :  Russia ;  Her  Strength  and  Her  Weak¬ 
ness.  London,  1904. 

Singleton,  Esther;  Editor:  Russia  as  Seen  and  Described  by 
Famous  Writers.  New  York,  1904. 

Stadling  and  Reason:  In  the  Land  of  Tolstoi.  New  York,  1897. 
Stead,  William  T. :  Truth  about  Russia.  London,  1888. 


480 


Appendices 


Stepniak,  S. :  The  Russian  Peasantry.  London,  1888. 

Tikhomirov,  L. :  Russia,  Political  and  Social.  2  vols.  London, 
1892. 

Villari,  Luigi  :  Russia  and  the  Great  Shadow.  London,  1905. 

Von  der  Bruggen,  Baron:  Russia  of  To-day.  Tr.  from  German. 
London,  1904. 

Wallace,  D.  Mackenzie:  Russia.  Revised  Edition.  London,  1905. 


INDEX 


Abo,  190,  197-8. 

Admiralty,  the,  34. 

Afghanistan,  388,  400. 

Agrarian  troubles,  229. 

Agriculture,  14,  180,  221,  227-9, 
277,  400. 

Alaska,  384. 

Albert,  Bishop,  the  missionary,  200, 
204. 

Alexander  I,  84,  133,  183,  361  et  seq., 
39°- 

Alexander  II,  184,  255,  379  et  seq., 
391,  436;  emancipation  of  serfs, 
224,  384;  assassination  of,  38, 
416;  memorial  church,  59. 
Alexander  III,  105,  183,  210,  386-9, 
391,  401;  and  Nihilism,  416-7; 
Statue  of,  61. 

Alexander  Nevski  Monastery,  43. 
Alexandrovo,  199. 

Alexandrovski  Runok,  30. 

Alexis  Michaelovitch,  54,  334. 
Alexis,  son  of  Peter  I,  342,  343. 
Aloupka,  153. 

Anarchy,  137. 

Anne  Ivanovna,  108,  348-9. 

Anne  Leopoldovna,  349. 

Anitchkov  Bridge,  129. 

Anitchkov  Palace,  25. 

Archangel,  7,  12. 

Arctic  Ocean,  12. 

Area,  467-9. 

Argonauts,  119. 

Armenians,  93,  115,  122,  125,  133, 
165,  401,  445. 

Army,  145,  184,  402. 

Art,  39,  41,  67-9. 

Artists,  Russian,  40-1,  67-9,  195. 
Artisans,  235. 

Astrakhan,  162,  166,  170-1. 

Athens,  141. 

Austerlitz,  363. 


Austria,  208,  363,  367,  379. 
Autocracy,  20,  209,  432  et  seq. 

Azov,  Sea  of,  13,  107,  115,  128. 

Baidar  Gate,  152. 

Bakshisarai,  142-3. 

Baku,  109,  120,  126. 

Balaklava,  148-150,  265,  377. 

Ballet,  Russian,  62. 

Balkan  States,  the,  199-204,  388, 
400. 

Baltic  Sea,  12,  474. 

Bargaining,  94,  273. 

Bashkirs,  172. 

Baths,  271-2. 

Batoum,  120-3,  383. 

Bees,  92. 

Beggars,  103. 

Bessarabia,  4,  242,  256. 
Bibliography,  477-480. 

Bielostock,  430. 

Biron,  Gustav,  349. 

Bishops,  307-9. 

Black  Band,  258,  429. 

Black  Earth  Region,  6. 

Black  Sea,  11-2,  372;  around  the, 
117  et  seq. 

Bobrikov,  Gen.,  184,  427. 

Borky,  105. 

Borlaki,  the,  163. 

Bosphorus,  the,  120. 

Brody,  247. 

Bug  River,  131. 

Bulgaria,  383. 

Bund,  the  Jewish,  245. 

Bureaucracy,  432  et  seq. 

Byzantium,  142. 

Cadets,  the,  454,  455,  457,  459,  462, 

465- 

Caspian  Sea,  11,  120,  160. 

Caste,  the  priestly,  307-10. 


482 


Index 


Catherine  I,  342-7 . 

Catherine  the  Great,  16,  37,  42,  91, 
108,  no,  130,  131,  132,  143,  166, 
214,  218,  222,  254,  350-8.  390, 
456. 

Catholics,  Roman,  295,  314,  374. 
Caucasus,  the,  4,  122-7. 
Caucasians,  26. 

Cave  Monastery,  100-2,  308. 
Caviar,  12,  171,  267. 

Censorship,  284-5,  374.  441. 
Characteristics,  Russian,  63-6,  73-8, 
260  et  seq.,  411. 

Charles  XII  of  Sweden,  96,  340. 
Chemulpo,  395. 

Chersonesus,  141-2. 

Churches,  the  dissenting,  310-4. 
Circassians,  177. 

Classes,  Russian,  213-9. 

Clergy,  the  White,  304-7;  the 
Black,  304,  308-10. 

Climate,  13,  22,  72,  121,  179,  192. 
Commerce,  405. 

Communes,  113,  222  et  seq. 
Constantine,  370,  374. 
Constantinople,  19,  45,  400. 
Contrasts,  20. 

Co-operative  institutions,  238. 
Corruption,  428-431,  443-6. 
Cossacks,  the,  5,  26,  105  et  seq.,  170, 
442. 

Costumes,  95. 

Cottages,  86,  181. 

Councils,  Town,  279,  450,  452. 
Council  of  the  Empire,  454. 

Cracow,  205,  247. 

Crimea,  84,  107, 130,  139  et  seq.,  242. 
Crimean  War,  143,  147-150,  189, 
375-9- 

Customs,  73-6,  85,  135,  260  et  seq. 
Czar,  origin  of  word,  432-3. 
Czarevitch,  the,  392. 

Daghestan,  122. 

Dardanelles,  the,  12. 

Dariel  Pass,  127. 

Democracy  of  Russians,  260. 
Derekoi,  157. 

Diet,  the  Finnish,  183,  194. 
Discipline,  lack  of,  262. 

Dmitri,  the  false,  no,  330. 

Dmitri  Ivanovitch,  325. 

Dnieper  River,  10,  90,  97. 

Dolgoruki,  Daniel,  324. 

Dolgorouki,  George,  47. 


Don  River,  10,  107,  112-3. 
Doroschenka,  the  artist,  68. 

Dorpat,  200,  281. 

Dostoyevski,  Theodore,  291. 
Doukhobors,  312. 

Droshkis,  27-8. 

Droughts,  14. 

Drunkenness,  66,  75,  233. 

Duma,  the,  233,  429,  430,  450,  453 
et  seq.;  first,  454-9;  second,  459- 
461;  third,  461-4;  fourth,  464-5. 
Dwina  River,  201,  203. 

Easter  in  Moscow,  56-7. 

Education,  190,  277  et  seq.;  Jewish, 
254;  in  Finland,  195;  in  Cau¬ 
casus,  124,  126. 

Ekaterinburg,  169. 

Ekaterinadar,  108,  128. 
Ekaterinoslav,  242. 

Elburz,  Mt.,  123. 

Elections,  454,  462,  464. 

Elizabeth,  344,  350-1,  458. 
Emancipation  of  serfs,  384. 

Empire,  Council  of  the,  436. 
England,  133,  364,  367,  375-9,  388, 

405- 

Equality  in  Russia,  218. 

Eregli,  118. 

Esthonians,  202. 

Ethnology,  15-6. 

Eudoxia,  342. 

Eupatoria,  376. 

Euxine  Sea  (See  Black  Sea). 

Exports,  405-6. 

Factories,  237-8. 

Fair  of  Nijni  Novgorod,  174-7. 

Fasts,  75. 

Feodor,  330,  335. 

Feodosia,  see  Theodosia. 

Festivals,  74. 

Finland,  4,  178  et  seq.,  363,  401. 
Finland  State  Railway,  181. 

Finns,  16,  72. 

Fires,  73,  86. 

Fish,  12,  65,  114,  164,  171,  187. 

Flax,  104. 

Folk-lore,  202. 

Folk-songs,  265. 

Fontanka  River,  29. 

Food,  75,  164,  267. 

Forests,  7-9,  181. 

[  Foundling  Hospital,  69. 


Index 


483 


France,  375-9- 
Funerals,  275-6. 

Galicia,  104,  400. 

Gapon,  Father,  421-4. 

Genghis  Khan,  18. 

Georgians,  122,  124. 

Germans,  16,  166,  199,  405. 

Ghetto,  the,  248. 

Government,  19-20,  432  et  seq. 

“  Go-away,”  the,  236. 

Godunov,  Boris,  330. 

Gostinoi  Dvor,  29. 

Granite,  190. 

Grand  Army,  the,  206,  365. 

Grand  Khan,  162. 

Great  Russia,  3,  71  et  seq. 

Greeks,  119,  129,  141,  203,  317,  372. 
Grieg,  Admiral,  203. 

Grodno,  204,  242. 

Growth,  399-401. 

Guilds,  215,  244. 

Hague,  The,  393. 

Hanseatic  League,  80,  200-1. 
Helsingfors,  184,  188,  192,  203. 
Hermitage,  39,  129. 

Herodotus,  140. 

Hetman,  the,  91,  114. 

Hirsch,  Baron,  252. 

Hogholm,  189. 

Hogland,  181. 

Holidays,  85. 

Horde,  the  Golden,  142. 

Hotels,  404,  475. 

Howard,  John,  131. 

Ialta,  152,  155-7. 

Iberian  Chapel,  51. 

Ichernigov,  242. 

Icons,  96,  297-300;  painting  of, 
239- 

Ilmen,  Lake,  78. 

Imatra,  Falls  of,  186-7. 

Immensity  of  country,  2-4. 

Imperial  Library,  25. 

Imports,  405-6. 

Intelligents,  the,  412-7. 

Istvostchick,  28,  64,  237. 

Ivan  the  Great,  432;  Bell  Tower  of, 
55- 

Ivan  the  Terrible,  53,  68,  80,  167, 
i74,  327-330,  433- 
Ivan,  brother  of  Peter,  335. 

Ivan  III,  325-326. 

Izba,  the,  72-4. 


Japan,  war  with,  210,  394-7,  419, 

444. 

Jesuits,  207. 

Jews,  4,  31,  84,  93,  126,  241,  el  seq., 
387;  in  Odessa,  136;  in  Crimea, 
143;  in  Poland,  205,  206,  207, 
212;  pogroms  against,  430;  pass¬ 
port  question,  398-9. 

Kazan,  162,  164,  167-8,  281. 

Kazan  Cathedral,  36. 

Kalevala,  the,  196-7. 

Kalmyks,  172. 

Kama  River,  160,  168. 

Kertch,  128-9,  140. 

Kharkov,  92-6,  105,  in,  300-2. 
Kherson,  130. 

Kiev,  90,  97-104,  295,  321. 

Kirghiz,  172. 

Kishinev,  256-7. 

Kosciusko,  209. 

Kosher  taxes,  244. 

Kovno,  242. 

Kremlin  Bell,  58. 

Kremlin,  the,  of  Moscow,  48,  50-9, 

309- 

Kronstadt,  376. 

Krylov,  288. 

Kumys,  169-70. 

Kur  River,  125. 

Kurds,  122. 

Kuopio,  187,  188. 

Kuropatkin,  General,  396. 

Kursk,  83-6,  91,  234. 

Kvass,  268. 

Labor  Troubles,  417  et  seq. 

Lace,  239,  274. 

Ladoga,  Lake,  12,  78,  161,  187. 

Land,  231. 

Land  Captains,  227. 

Language,  475. 

Lapland,  y,  188. 

Law,  Martial,  441,  464. 

Laws,  440;  the  Fundamental,  455. 
Lemburg,  109,  247. 

Letts,  the,  202. 

Libau,  12. 

Liberty,  personal,  262. 

Life,  Russian,  63-6. 

Linevitch,  General,  396. 

Literature,  196,  286  et  seq. 

Lithuania,  199,  202,  204-7. 

Little  Russia,  3,  88  et  seq.,  301 
Livadia,  154,  389. 


484 


Index 


Livonians,  201. 

Lodz,  212,  424. 

Lonnrot,  Elias,  196. 

Lutherans,  166,  204,  314. 

Makary,  the,  175-7. 

Manchuria,  395. 

Manufacturing,  407. 

Markets,  85,  94,  116,  192. 

Marriage,  76. 

Massacres,  Jewish,  256-9. 
Merchants,  the,  215-6. 
Metropolitans,  the,  308. 

Ministers,  Council  of,  437. 

Minsk,  204,  242. 

Mir,  the,  225  el  seq.,  437,  449. 
Mitliridates,  129,  141. 

Mittau,  200. 

Mohammedans,  16,  122,  158,  165, 
168. 

Mohilev,  204,  242. 

Molakanes,  the,  313. 

Monasteries,  100-2,  308-10. 

Money,  406,  475. 

Mosaics,  99. 

Moscow,  45  et  seq.,  109,  324,  366, 
453;  disturbances  in,  425-7; 
visit  of  Nicholas  II,  443. 

Moskva  River,  50. 

Moujik,  165,  230-2. 

Mountains,  9,  122. 

Muscovy,  325. 

Music,  65,  195,  265,  303. 
Mythology,  118-9,  I4°- 

Napoleon,  48,  53,  206,  363. 
Napoleon  III,  375. 

Narodin  Dom,  31. 

Narva,  200. 

Natalie,  wife  of  Alexis,  335. 
Nationalists,  462,  465. 

Nanshan,  396. 

Navy,  264,  403. 

Nestor,  Chronicles  of,  67. 

Neva,  River,  n,  32,  161. 

Nevski,  Alexander,  43,  47,  323. 
Nevski  Prospect,  25. 

Newspapers,  283-5,  441- 
Nicholas  I,  131,  370  et  seq.,  391. 
Nicholas  II,  55,  61,  154,  390  et  seq., 
418,  435;  attempt  on  life  of,  428; 
Manifesto  of,  470-2. 

Nicolaiev,  108,  131,  137. 

Nihilism,  385,  387,  411-7* 


Nijni  Novgorod,  162,  166,  172-7, 
234- 

Nikon,  the  reforms  of,  no,  310. 

Nobles,  213-9,  448- 

Nova  Zembla,  island  of,  7. 

Novgorod  the  Great,  77-81,  201. 

Novorossisk,  127-8. 

Novo-Tcherkask,  1 14. 

Nyslot,  187,  188. 

Octobrists,  the,  462,  465. 

Odessa,  93,  131-8,  313,  430;  mas¬ 
sacres  in,  257-9,  43°- 

Officials,  156,  219,  446. 

Oka  River,  162,  173. 

Olafsburg,  Castle  of,  188. 

Oleg,  320. 

Olga,  319. 

Orel,  83. 

Orthodox  Church,  17,  166,  204, 
293  et  seq.,  465. 

Paganism,  98. 

Pale  of  Settlement,  242-3,  254. 

Panslavists,  400. 

Panticapaerim,  129. 

Paradox,  the  Russian,  201,  260-2. 

Passports,  21,  442-3,  473;  contro¬ 
versy  with  United  States,  398-9. 

Patience,  Russian,  263. 

Paul  I,  131,  223,  359-361,  390. 

Peasants,  205,  221  et  seq.,  409;  of 
Great  Russia,  72-7;  of  Little 
Russia,  91;  emancipation  of, 
384;  industries  of,  274-5;  religion 
of,  306-8;  communes,  225-9. 

Pecherska  Lavra,  101-2. 

Persia  and  Persians,  125,  165,  177, 
372,  388,  397. 

Perun,  the  heathen  god,  98,  303. 

Peter  the  Great,  12,  35,  43,  55,  108, 
1 15,  222,  283,  288,  309,  335-345, 
390;  founding  of  capital,  23-4; 
victory  of  Poltava,  96-7;  and 
nobles,  214;  and  Church,  296- 
3ii- 

Peter  II,  55,  347. 

Peter  III,  224,  351-2,  394. 

Peterhov,  41,  392. 

Petroleum,  120,  123,  127. 

Petropawlovski,  Fortress,  33.  _ 

Photographing,  experiences  in,  66, 
96,  144,  154,  247. 

Physicians,  272. 

Pilgrims,  Russian,  313,  404. 


Index 


485 


Plehve,  M.,  419,  427,  438. 

Plevna,  382. 

Pobiedonestzev,  255,  386,  393. 
Podolia,  103,  242. 

Podwoloczyska,  247. 

Pogroms,  430. 

Poland,  4,  90,  1 1 2,  208-212,  309, 
36S>  368,  373-4,  380-2,  401. 
Police,  66,  387,  438,  445-6;  mur¬ 
ders  of,  428. 

Poltava,  96-7,  242. 

Pop,  the,  304-7.  _ 

Population,  density  of,  15,  467-9. 
Porphyry,  181. 

Port  Arthur,  395,  396. 

Potemkin,  Prince,  26,  13 1,  456. 
Potemkin,  mutiny  of  the,  137. 
Pougatchev,  no. 

Priests,  304-10,  462. 

Procrastination,  263. 

Procurator,  the,  295. 

Prometheus,  123. 

Protestantism,  368,  370. 

Provinces,  19. 

Prussia,  365. 

Pskov,  77. 

Punkaharju,  187,  188. 

Pushkin,  A.,  288. 

Rabbi,  the  Jewish,  251-2. 

Railroads,  46,  403,  474. 

Raskolinks,  no. 

Reapin,  68. 

Red  Russia,  3,  104. 

Red  Square,  Moscow,  51. 

Reformed  Church,  202. 

Religion,  16,  77,  109,  205,  280,  293 
et  seq.,  319,  440;  shrines  in  Mos¬ 
cow,  51;  monasteries,  98-102; 
services  in  churches,  60. 
Resurrection  Gate,  Moscow,  51. 
Restaurants,  64. 

Reval,  200,  201,  203. 

Revenues,  406. 

Revolution,  137,  371;  Polish,  208; 

of  1905,  418  et  seq. 

Richelieu,  Due  de,  133. 

Riga,  200,  201,  203-4. 

Ritualists,  the  Old,  310-2. 

Rivers,  10. 

Riviera,  the  Russian,  150-6. 

Roads,  403. 

Roman  Catholics,  295,  314,  374. 
Romanov,  Michael,  333. 

Roosevelt,  President,  397. 


Rostov  the  Great,  76,  238. 
Rostov-on-Don,  93,  105,  115-6,  128, 

418. 

Roumania,  382. 

Rouss,  origin  of  word,  319. 

Rurik,  78,  219,  319. 

Russki  Museum,  40. 

Russo-Japanese  War,  210,  394-7, 

419,  444- 
Rye,  74. 

St.  Anthony,  100. 

St.  Basil,  Church  of,  52. 

St.  Isaac’s,  34. 

St.  Petersburg,  22  el  seq. 

St.  Sergius,  309. 

Saghalien,  394,  397. 

Saima  Canal,  186. 

Saima  Lake,  187. 

Samara,  169. 

Samovar,  the,  266. 

Sarai,  161. 

Scandinavians,  318. 

Scythians,  90,  130,  140,  317. 
Schlusselburg,  33. 

Schools,  450. 

Seas,  1 1-2. 

Serfs,  emancipation  of,  222,  224, 

384- 

Sergius,  Grand  Duke,  428. 

Servia,  382. 

Sevastopol,  143-7,  376-9. 

Sheep,  150. 

Shrines,  206,  298-300. 

Shuster,  W.  Morgan,  21,  397. 

Siberia,  19,  387,  391,  400,  404. 
Sigismund  III,  334. 

Signs,  Picture,  273. 

Simpherapol,  156. 

Sineus,  319. 

Skhod,  the,  226. 

Slavs,  the,  16,  90,  318. 

Smolensk,  71,  77,  201,  365. 

Socialism,  412-7,  422. 

Soil,  5-8. 

Soldiers,  67,  in. 

Sophia,  335-336- 
Sparrow  Hill,  70. 

Standart,  128. 

Starosta,  the,  226. 

Steppes,  the,  6,  106,  139. 

Stockholm,  474. 

Stoessel,  General,  396. 

Stolypin,  Peter,  431,  459.  463- 
Stoves,  274. 


486 


Index 


Strawberries,  179. 

Strikes,  424-6. 

Students,  282-3. 

Sturgeon,  171. 

Sunday,  Bloody,  423. 

Sunflowers,  404. 

Suomi  (See  Finland). 

Superstition,  303-4. 

Suvorin,  A.  S.,  286. 

Suzdal,  77. 

Sveaborg,  189. 

Sviatoslav,  320. 

Sweden,  182,  192.  198,  201,  364, 
396- 

Sword  Bearers,  Order  of,  201. 
Synod,  Holy,  34,  279,  295-6. 

Tagenrog,  115,  369. 

Talmud,  the,  252. 

Tambov,  112. 

Tammerfors,  198. 

Tariff,  406. 

Tartars,  4,  18,  47,  65,  72,  105,  109, 
122,  142,  143,  152,  157-9.  161, 
164,  167,  170,  177,323- 
Taurida,  242. 

Taurida  Palace,  456. 

Taxes,  229,  232. 

Tcherimis,  the,  169. 

Tcherkask,  114. 

Tchins,  the,  219. 

Tchouds,  202. 

Tea,  177,  266. 

Temperature,  13. 

Terrorism,  415-7,  420,  427-9,  431. 
Teutonic  Knights,  202. 

Theodosia,  129,  140. 

Theodosius,  84. 

Tiflis,  124-7. 

Tilsit,  363. 

Tipping,  264. 

Titles,  insignificance  of,  217. 

Tolstoi,  82-3,  287,  291. 

Tomsk,  281,  394. 

Topography,  2. 

Torjok,  239. 

Touchino,  Brigand  of,  332. 

Towns,  14. 

Trans-Siberian  Railway,  169,  388, 

403- 

Trans-Caspian  Railway,  388,  403. 
Travelling,  473“S- 
Trepov,  General,  424. 

Tretiakoff  Art  Gallery  ,  67. 

Troika,  27. 


Troitsa  Monastery,  308. 

Truvor,  319. 

Tsarskoi  Selo,  41,  427. 

Tula,  81-3,  236. 

Turgeniev,  Ivan,  290. 

Turkestan,  383,  388. 

Turkey  and  Turks,  12,  117,  132, 
368,  372,  375-82. 

Tver,  46,  77,  236,  238,  452. 

Ufa,  Province  of,  169. 

Ukraine,  the,  90. 

Uniates,  the,  374. 

United  States,  398,  405. 

Universities,  67,  93,  190,  281. 

Ural  Mountains,  9,  169. 

Usury,  253. 

Valdai  Hills,  160. 

Varangians,  78,  318. 

Vassili  the  Blind,  325. 

Vassili  Ivanovitch,  326. 

Ventilation,  lack  of,  269. 

Vetche,  the,  79. 

Viatka,  Province  of,  169. 

Viborg,  181,  185-7,  459. 

Vilayka  River,  205. 

Villages,  91,  225  et  seq.,  246. 

Vilna,  205-7,  365. 

Vistula  River,  10. 

Vitebsk,  204,  242. 

Vladikaufkaz,  127. 

Vladimir,  71,  77,  81,  98,  239,  320, 

323- 

Vladimir,  Grand  Duke,  423. 
Vladislas,  332. 

Vodka,  65,  75,  233,  234,  268. 

Volga  River,  10-1,  160  et  seq. 
Volhynia,  103. 

Vologda,  71. 

Volost,  the,  449. 

Votiaks,  the,  169. 

Vuoksi  River,  187. 

Wages,  408. 

Warsaw,  112,  205,  209-212,  245, 
246,  286,  373.  3741  Grand  Duchy 
of,  363- 

Watermelons,  166. 

Wealth,  409. 

Wells,  87. 

White  Russia,  3. 

White  Sea,  7,  13. 

Windmills,  92. 

Winter  in  Russia,  5,  270-1. 


Index 


487 


Winter  Palace,  36-7,  455. 

Witte,  Count,  406,  407,  438. 

Women,  76,  95,  232,  282;  in  Fin¬ 
land,  193-4;  Jewish,  250-1. 

Wood,  8. 

Workmen,  421. 

Woronzov,  Count,  134,  146,  153. 

Yakutsk,  19,  394. 

Yalta  (See  lalta). 


Yalu,  396. 

Yaropolk,  320. 

Yaroslav,  71,  98,  322. 

Yasnaya  Polyana,  82. 

Yiddish,  242. 

Zakuska,  the,  267. 

Zaporogians,  107-8. 

Zemstvo,  the,  279,  420,  437,  448, 
452,  463- 


